Posts Tagged: Intellectual Property protection
What are Trade Secrets?
Trade Secrets: yours and everybody else’s
As we discussed last week, trade secrets are a type of Intellectual Property protection. The courts define “trade secret” very broadly. It can mean any type of confidential or secret information that gives a business a competitive edge. Some examples of trade secrets: survey methods used by professional pollsters; formula for a sports drinks; recipes; a new but unpatented invention; manufacturing techniques; marketing strategies; and computer code or algorithms. Trade secrets can even mean a good prospect list or supply chain. Trade secrets are any valuable business information that is not generally known.
Generally trade secrets are most important in four types of business interactions:
The new Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 and how it will affect you
Understanding how trade secrets (and the new Trade Secrets Act of 2016) affects every business, whether you think you have trade secrets or not.
Trade secrets are a type of Intellectual Property protection. Many small businesses assume that unless they are a high tech company or an inventor, the concept of “trade secrets” does not apply to them. However, the idea of a trade secret has always been defined very broadly. It can mean any type of confidential or secret information that gives a business a competitive edge. The most famous trade secret in the business world is the recipe for Coca Cola.