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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) | A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers. In some jurisdictions, such secrets are referred to as "confidential information" or "classified information". Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ...
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For the 2006 film, see Intellectual Property (film). ...
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Not to be confused with copywriting. ...
For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ...
“(TM)†redirects here. ...
Industrial design rights are intellectual property rights that protect the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian. ...
A utility model is an intellectual property right to protect inventions. ...
A geographical indication (sometimes abbreviated to GI) is a name or sign used on certain products or which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (eg. ...
Related rights is a term in copyright law, used in opposition to the term authors rights. The term neighbouring rights is exactly equivalent, and a more literal translation of the original French droits voisins. ...
A trade name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the legal name of a business, or the name which a business trades under for commercial purposes. ...
The term domain name has multiple related meanings: A name that identifies a computer or computers on the Internet. ...
Sui generis is a (post) Latin expression, literally meaning a scholar like what pradeep is or unique in its characteristics. ...
Database rights are a form of exclusive right introduced by European Union Law to those countries which follow EU Law in 1996. ...
A mask work is a two or three-dimensional layout of an integrated circuit (IC), i. ...
Plant breeders rights, also known as plant variety rights (PVR), are intellectual property rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant. ...
In European Union member countries, a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) is a sui generis, patent-like, intellectual property right. ...
Indigenous intellectual property: is an umbrella legal term used in national and international forums to identify indigenous peoples special rights to claim (from within their own laws) all that their indigenous groups know now, have known, or will know. ...
This is a list of topics related to intellectual property. ...
In mathematics and in the sciences, a formula (plural: formulae, formulæ or formulas) is a concise way of expressing information symbolically (as in a mathematical or chemical formula), or a general relationship between quantities. ...
Look up practice, practise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Illustration of a physical process: a geyser in action. Process (lat. ...
All Saints Chapel in the Cathedral Basilica of St. ...
Legal instrument is a legal term of art that is used for any written legal document such as a certificate, a deed, a will, an Act of Parliament or a law passed by a competent legislative body in municipal (domestic) or international law. ...
For other uses, see Pattern (disambiguation). ...
The ASCII codes for the word Wikipedia represented in binary, the numeral system most commonly used for encoding computer information. ...
In economics, a business is a legally-recognized organizational entity existing within an economically free country designed to sell goods and/or services to consumers, usually in an effort to generate profit. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Definition The precise language by which a trade secret is defined varies by jurisdiction (as do the particular types of information that are subject to trade secret protection). However, there are three factors that (though subject to differing interpretations) are common to all such definitions: a trade secret is some sort of information that: - is not generally known to the relevant portion of the public;
- confers some sort of economic benefit on its holder (where this benefit must derive specifically from its not being generally known, not just from the value of the information itself);
- is the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.
Protection A company can protect its confidential information through non-compete non-disclosure contracts with its employees (within the constraints of employment law, including only restraint that is reasonable in geographic and time scope). The law of protection of confidential information effectively allows a perpetual monopoly in secret information - it does not expire as would a patent. The lack of formal protection, however, means that a third party is not prevented from independently duplicating and using the secret information once it is discovered. For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ...
The sanctioned protection of such type of information from public disclosure is viewed as an important legal aspect by which a society protects its overall economic vitality. A company typically invests time and energy (work) into generating information regarding refinements of process and operation. If competitors had access to the same knowledge, the first company's ability to survive or maintain its market dominance would be impaired. Where trade secrets are recognized, the creator of knowledge regarded as a "trade secret" is entitled to regard such "special knowledge" as intellectual property. Market dominance is a measure of the strength of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative to competitive offerings. ...
For the 2006 film, see Intellectual Property (film). ...
Trade secrets are not protected by law in the same manner as trademarks or patents. Specifically, both trademarks and patents are protected under Federal statutes, the Lanham Act and Patent Act, respectively. Trade secrets arise out of state laws. Most states have adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (USTA). Only Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Texas have not adopted the USTA. One of the most significant differences between patents and trademarks and trade secrets is that a trade secret is only protected when the secret is not disclosed. “(TM)†redirects here. ...
For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ...
The Uniform Trade Secrets Act is a model law drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to better define rights and remedies of common law trade secret. ...
Comparison with trademarks To acquire rights in a trademark under U.S. law, one must simply use the mark "in commerce."[1] It is possible to register a trademark in the U.S., both at the federal and state levels. (Registration of trademarks confers some advantages, including stronger protection in certain respects, but it is not required in order to get protection.)[2] Registration may be required in order to file a lawsuit for trademark infringement, however. Other nations have different trademark policies and this information may not apply to them. Assuming the mark in question meets certain other standards of protectibility, it is protected from infringement on the grounds that other uses might confuse consumers as to the origin or nature of the goods once the mark has been associated with a particular supplier. (Similar considerations apply to service marks and trade dress.) By definition, a trademark enjoys no protection (qua trademark) until and unless it is "disclosed" to consumers, for only then are consumers able to associate it with a supplier or source in the requisite manner. (That a company plans to use a certain trademark might itself be protectible as a trade secret, however, until the mark is actually made public.) It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Trademark. ...
Trade dress refers to features of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the facade of a building such as a restaurant) that may be registered and protected from being used by competitors in the manner of a trademark. ...
Comparison with patents To acquire a patent, full information about the method or product has to be supplied to the patent bureau and upon publication or issuance, will then be available to all. After expiration of the patent, competitors can copy the method or product legally. The temporary monopoly on the subject matter of the patent is regarded as a quid pro quo for thus disclosing the information to the public. This article is about the economic term. ...
Quid pro quo (Latin for something for something [1]) indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. ...
Protecting trade secrets Trade secrets are by definition not disclosed to the world at large. Instead, owners of trade secrets seek to keep their special knowledge out of the hands of competitors through a variety of civil and commercial means, not the least of which is the employment of non-disclosure agreements (NDA) and non-compete clauses. In exchange for the opportunity to be employed by the holder of secrets, a worker will sign an agreement not to reveal his prospective employer's proprietary information. Often, he will also sign over rights to the ownership of his own intellectual production during the course (or as a condition) of his employment. Violation of the agreement generally carries stiff financial penalties, agreed to in writing by the worker and designed to operate as a disincentive to going back on his word. Similar agreements are often signed by representatives of other companies with whom the trade secret holder is engaged, e.g. in licensing talks or other business negotiations. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also called a confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), confidentiality agreement or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties which outlines confidential materials or knowledge the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict from generalized use. ...
A non-compete clause, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a term used in contract law under which one party (usually an employee) agrees to not pursue a similar profession or trade in competition against another party (usually the employer). ...
Trade secret protection can, in principle, extend indefinitely and in this may offer an advantage over patent protection, which lasts only for a specifically limited period of time, for example, twenty years in the U.S. Coca-Cola, the most famous trade secret example, has no patent for its formula and has been very effective in protecting it for many more years than a patent would have. In fact, Coca-Cola refused to reveal its trade secret under at least two judges' orders.[3] However, the "down side" of such protection is that it is comparatively easy to lose (for example, to reverse engineering, which a patent will withstand but a trade secret will not) and comes equipped with no minimum guaranteed period of years. The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ...
Reverse engineering (RE) is the process of taking something (a device, an electrical component, a software program, etc. ...
Historically, trade secrets have existed since early times in the form of keeping advanced military technology from one's enemies, and in more recent times, in keeping Industrial Revolution-era technology secret. A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ...
Discovering trade secrets Companies often try to discover one another's trade secrets through lawful methods of reverse engineering on one hand and less lawful methods of industrial espionage on the other. Acts of industrial espionage are generally illegal in their own right under the relevant governing laws. The importance of that illegality to trade secret law is as follows: if a trade secret is acquired by improper means (a somewhat wider concept than "illegal means" but inclusive of such means), the secret is generally deemed to have been misappropriated. Thus if a trade secret has been acquired via industrial espionage, its acquirer will probably be subject to legal liability for acquiring it improperly. (The holder of the trade secret is nevertheless obliged to protect against such espionage to some degree in order to safeguard the secret. As noted above, under most trade secret regimes, a trade secret is not deemed to exist unless its purported holder takes reasonable steps to maintain its secrecy.) Reverse engineering (RE) is the process of taking something (a device, an electrical component, a software program, etc. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Competitive Intelligence. ...
Legal development to protecting trade secrets A relatively recent development in the USA is the adoption of the UTSA, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which has been adopted by approximately 45 states as the basis for trade secret law. It is believed that a measure of uniformity among different states' laws will strengthen business' claims on their trade secrets. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act is a model law drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to better define rights and remedies of common law trade secret. ...
Another significant development in U.S. law is the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. § 1831–1839), which makes the theft or misappropriation of a trade secret a federal crime. This law contains two provisions criminalizing two sorts of activity. The first, 18 U.S.C. § 1831(a), criminalizes the theft of trade secrets to benefit foreign powers; the second, 18 U.S.C. § 1832, criminalizes their theft for commercial or economic purposes. (The statutory penalties are different for the two offenses.) The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-1839) makes the theft or misappropriation of a trade secret a federal crime. ...
Title 18 of the US Code deals with Crimes and Criminal Proceedings in five parts: Part I - Crimes Part II - Criminal Procedure Part III - Prisons and Prisoners Part IV - Correction of Youthful Offenders Part V - Immunity of Witnesses Title 18, specifically Part 1 > Chapter 113B > § 2331 and § 2332a(a)), is...
Title 18 of the US Code deals with Crimes and Criminal Proceedings in five parts: Part I - Crimes Part II - Criminal Procedure Part III - Prisons and Prisoners Part IV - Correction of Youthful Offenders Part V - Immunity of Witnesses Title 18, specifically Part 1 > Chapter 113B > § 2331 and § 2332a(a)), is...
Title 18 of the US Code deals with Crimes and Criminal Proceedings in five parts: Part I - Crimes Part II - Criminal Procedure Part III - Prisons and Prisoners Part IV - Correction of Youthful Offenders Part V - Immunity of Witnesses Title 18, specifically Part 1 > Chapter 113B > § 2331 and § 2332a(a)), is...
In Commonwealth common law jurisdictions, confidentiality and trade secrets are regarded as an equitable right rather than a property right (with the exception of Hong Kong where a judgment of the High Court indicates that confidential information may be a property right). The Court of Appeal of England and Wales in the case of Saltman Engineering Co Ltd v. Campbell Engineering Ltd, (1948) 65 P.R.C. 203 held that the action for breach of confidence is based on a principle of preserving "good faith". The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2007 Headquarters Marlborough House, London, UK Official languages English Membership 53 sovereign states Leaders - Queen Elizabeth II - Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma Appointed 24 November 2007 Establishment - Balfour Declaration 18 November 1926 - Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931 - London Declaration 28 April 1949 Area - Total...
This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...
The Court of Chancery, London, early 19th century This article is about the concept of equity in the jurisprudence of common law countries. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Her Majestys Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords above it. ...
The test for a cause of action for breach of confidence in the common law world is set out in the case of Coco v. A.N. Clark (Engineers) Ltd, (1969) R.P.C. 41 at 47:
- the information itself must have the necessary quality of confidence about it;
- that information must have been imparted in circumstances imparting an obligation of confidence;
- there must be an unauthorized use of that information to the detriment of the party communicating it.
The "quality of confidence" highlights that trade secrets are a legal concept. With sufficient effort or through illegal acts (such as break and enter), competitors can usually obtain trade secrets. However, so long as the owner of the trade secret can prove that reasonable efforts have been made to keep the information confidential, the information remains a trade secret and generally remains legally protected. Conversely, trade secret owners who cannot evidence reasonable efforts at protecting confidential information, risk losing the trade secret, even if the information is obtained by competitors illegally. It is for this reason that trade secret owners shred documents and do not simply recycle them.[citation needed]
A successful plaintiff is entitled to various forms of judicial relief, including:
Look up Injunction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
In law, damages refers to the money paid or awarded to a claimant (as it is known in the UK) or plaintiff (in the US) following their successful claim in a civil action. ...
In law, a declaration ordinarily refers to a judgment of the court or an award of an arbitration tribunal is a binding adjudication of the rights or other legal relations of the parties which does not provide for or order enforcement. ...
Notes
See also The legal aspects of technology involve many different terms. ...
External links - Trade Secret Law by Eugene R. Quinn, Jr. (IPWatchdog).
- International Aspects of Trade Secrets Law by Karen A. Magri.
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