IP Basics

What is a trade secret?

Trade secrets protect valuable confidential information: recipes, algorithms, processes, customer lists: anything with value because it is secret.

Trade secrets, in short

  • How you get it: no registration, just keep it genuinely secret with reasonable measures (NDAs, access controls).
  • How long it lasts: as long as it stays secret. The Coca-Cola formula has managed since 1886.
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Also in the basics: Trademarks · Patents · Copyright · Designs