Crown Jewel Advisory and Due Diligence Services
Today, most innovative businesses are spending increasingly more of their revenue or capital on Research & Development and AI – both protectable as trade secrets and converted into Intellectual Property (IP) assets ONLY if they are protected vigorously.
In 2024, on the Nasdaq, led by the worlds largest Tech companies, average R&D spend across the top ten companies collectively was $312Billion*, with an average of between 15-20% of annual revenue in 2024. The top ten companies in the S&P 500, led by large pharmaceuticals and biotech, spent roughly $126Billion*, an average of 22% of revenue. For many high growth businesses funded by Venture Capital, the percentage is much higher because the company is focused largely on just a handful of intangible innovation assets which create outsized value. This investment is largely unprotected and completely uninsured today.
The cost of leaked trade secrets is no longer theoretical; it is real, measurable, material, and even existential for companies that are sinking much of their revenue into R&D. Despite this reality, most companies still leave their Crown Jewels dangerously exposed, not realizing that by having loose controls they are jeopardizing the assets’ IP status.
Crown Jewel Insurance specializes in identifying, valuing, protecting, and insuring innovation and know-how—transforming what many view as sunk R&D expense or AI development into defensible, insurable, monetizable trade secret assets. We are here to help you prepare for Crisis Management in a way that saves millions in legal fees, saves precious senior leadership time, and creates the best chance to preserve your IP asset.
And, with the addition of InnovationGuard insurance, we fund the crisis management, bringing the best litigation and forensics expertise to you from minute one. If we are not successful at keeping the secret, well, secret…the policy pays for the pre-agreed value of that asset. The icing on the cake is that if we prevail in Damages during subrogation, you participate in any overage above what Insurers have already paid you at that time. It’s a win-win-win.
Testimonial
"We reached out to Crown Jewel for their experience and expertise around Trade Secrets. We specifically needed help performing peer benchmarking, developing best practices recommendations, and preparing a detailed report with the findings to support our development of a Trade Secret Asset Protection program. Crown Jewel provided us with excellent service that met all our needs and then some! Thank you, Crown Jewel!!"
-Head of IP at Expedia Group
“R&D and Gen AI input, prompting, agents, and output are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the value of trade secrets for most companies. That is because, unlike patents, trade secrets live in many parts of the company. Strategic plans, processes, workflows, sequencing, design of the manufacturing floor are all examples of things that can be trade secrets, but only if you treat them as such”.
Mary Guzman, Founder & CEO
The Five-Step Playbook:
Inventory critical assets, classify at ideation stage, document and track
Value the asset
Grant need-to-know access
Build risk management into hiring and training, monitor exit-risk behaviors
Document rigorously, supported by properly crafted, enforceable NDAs
These are no longer “nice-to-haves.” They are fast becoming the baseline standard boards, investors, and insurers expect. Done properly and with insurance as a back-stop, these assets can be leverages for lending purposes and drive M&A value as well.
Success will depend on rapid innovation and having clear, defensible process to protect corporate secrets that provide competitive advantage, and the “reasonable measures” used to protect them, avoiding lengthy and expensive discovery which is today’s norm. Board and founder accountability is here. Crown Jewel Insurance is here to help.
*Various sources such as The Guardian, Financial Times, The Sounding Line, Digital Journal, Drug Discovery Trends, Voronoi App.
Crown Jewel® Trade Secret Asset Risk Management (TSARM)™
Turn Hidden Knowledge into Protected, Measurable, and Insurable Value
Advisory packages for every TSARM™ maturity level
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Advisory packages for every TSARM™ maturity level 〰️
SAPPHIRE Package: Discover & Assess
Investment: $12,500
Lay the foundation for your trade secret protection program. Identify what matters most, understand your risk posture, and build evidence of “reasonable measures.”
What’s Included:
Leadership Kickoff: Define “trade secret” vs. patent protection, understand the law, and explore real-world case studies.
AI-Powered Discovery: Identify and validate your most valuable trade secrets using a secure AI tool developed with a Global 20 law firm.
Protection Assessment: Benchmark your current practices with a 25+ point checklist based on case law and litigation feedback.
Sample Trade Secret Policy: Written by leading authorities in law and technology, this document will assist companies in designing a comprehensive framework.
Executive Dashboard: Receive clear insights and recommendations for immediate, mid-term, and long-term policy or procedural improvements.
Outcome: A defensible inventory of your most valuable trade secrets and a clear roadmap for protecting them.
EMERALD Package: Validate & Protect
Investment: $25,000 - $35,000
Transform your trade secrets into defensible, insurable, and monetizable assets. Move beyond assessment included in the Sapphire package to full validation and Crown Jewel® Validated certification.
What’s Included:
Governance Upgrades: Custom policy and procedure enhancements, legal contract guidance, and optional Board-level reporting.
Training & Partner Access: On-demand training videos and discounted services through our vetted partner network.
Valuation & Insurance Qualification: Independent valuation of up to five trade secrets, enabling coverage for their pre-agreed, expertly determined value through InnovationGuard™ — the world’s first trade secret insurance.
Crown Jewel® Validated Seal: Publicly demonstrate your commitment to Trade Secret Asset Risk Management (TSARM) recognized by investors, lenders, and customers.
Outcome: Proven protection, discounted insurance premium should you choose to purchase, and enhanced enterprise valuation. Compliance-ready and Board protection.
DIAMOND Package: Patents and Trade Secrets | M&A Due Diligence
Investment: TBD
The Diamond level is comprehensive intellectual property due diligence for M&A and capital markets transactions, focused on patents and trade secrets—the core drivers of competitive advantage and enterprise value in innovation-led businesses. Our work provides acquirers, investors, lenders, and advisors with a deep, independent, and unbiased view of a company’s competitive IP position, downside risk, and valuation.
Trade Secret Due Diligence & Validation
Trade secrets often represent a substantial portion of enterprise value yet are frequently under-managed and under-diligenced. We go beyond traditional assessment to help companies transform trade secrets into defensible, insurable, and monetizable assets, progressing to full Crown Jewel® Validation and certification.
Our diligence evaluates whether critical know-how, such as proprietary processes, data, algorithms, models, and methodologies, is:
Clearly identified and documented
Owned or legally in use by the Insured as trade secrets
Operationally protected through governance, controls, and contracts
Resilient post-close
What’s Included
Governance Upgrades: Custom policy and procedure enhancements, legal contract guidance, and optional Board-level reporting aligned with best-in-class TSARM.
Training & Partner Access: On-demand training and discounted access to a vetted partner network supporting implementation and ongoing compliance.
Valuation & Insurance Qualification: Independent valuation of up to five validated trade secrets, enabling insurance coverage for their agreed value through InnovationGuard™, the world’s first trade secret theft insurance.
Crown Jewel® Validated Seal: Once improvements to TSARM are implemented, a recognized certification signaling disciplined trade secret management to investors, lenders, insurers, and customers.
Patent Due Diligence
We conduct robust analysis of the patent portfolio of a target, borrower, or issuer to assess its strategic and financial relevance in a transaction context. Our review includes:
Technology and portfolio alignment with the core business
Patent quality and claim strength, enforceability, remaining life, and jurisdictional scope
Competitive benchmarking against peers and key competitors
Chain of Title & Encumbrance Status
The result is a clear understanding of the portfolio’s underlying value, durability, and role in sustaining competitive advantage.
Outcome
A defensible, transaction-ready view of a company’s innovation moat, supported by:
Reduced diligence and post-close risk
Insurable and financeable trade secret assets
Clearer valuation support and improved deal confidence
Enhanced enterprise value through validated, protected innovation
This approach enables deal teams to underwrite not just what IP exists—but how well it is protected, how it compares competitively, and how it can be leveraged to drive long-term value.
Custom ad-hoc services
Investment: TBD (monthly retainer or à la carte)
This is a strategic partnership for Enterprises ready to operationalize trade secret governance across their business and risk ecosystem. We essentially become part of your trade secret risk committee.
What’s Included (pick and choose):
Board presentations and executive briefings
Contract review and negotiation support
Insurance program audits (Cyber, Crime, D&O, R&W)
Tabletop exercises and case study simulations
Custom advisory — tailored to your specific needs
Outcome: Trade secret governance integrated across legal, cyber, and business strategy — turning compliance into a competitive advantage while increasing value for investors and exit
