Trade Secret

Outline

Intellectual Property Overview

What is trade secret?

Why Trade Secret Protection Is Important

Protect of Trade Secret

Impact of Trade Secrets

Solution of Trade Secrets

Recommendation of Trade Secrets

Intellectual Property Overview

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind,

such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs;
and symbols, names and images used in commerce
Basic IP Rights: Patents
Copyrights
Trademarks
Trade

Secrets
3

What is a patent?
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that
provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a
problem. To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the
public in a patent application.
What is copyright?
Copyright (or authors right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have
over their literary and artistic works. Works covered by copyright range from books, music,
paintings, sculpture, and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps, and
technical drawings.
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from
those of other enterprises. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights.

What is trade secret?

A trade secret is simply confidential information that derives

economic value.

Trade secrets are information that companies keep secret to give

them an advantage over their competitors.

The subject matter ranges from formulas, manufacturing

techniques, designs, specifications, and test methods, to customer,
financial, vendor, and other forms of information.

Basic Trade Secrets:-

Business
New

plans & strategies

product names

Financial

projections

Marketing
Cost

& pricing information

Sales

data

Customer
new

plans,

lists

business opportunities

Personnel

performance

Why Trade Secret Protection Is Important

Trade secrets are very important to industry. Technical know-how and
commercial information can be the result of considerable investment,
skill and labour.
Trade secrets are different from the other forms of intellectual property, in
that the protection of trade secrets requires establishment and
maintenance.
Trade secrets require continuous effort in order to allow defense by
lawsuits against infringers at a later time, rather than a single application
and grant by a federal agency.
Trademarks protect only the printed word or image referencing a product or
service in commerce.
Copyrights protect only the manner of expression, but not the content - the idea,
information, or concept - being communicated.

Protect of Trade Secret

1. check employment and/or contractor agreements
Employment Agreements
Employee Confidentiality & Inventions Assignment Agreement
2. engage security measures
Secure sensitive information
Secure networks/documents
Shred hard copies of sensitive documents; maintain shred bins
3. review sales/marketing materials
Sales people are notorious for disclosure to potential customers or vendors
Appropriate confidentiality designations?
Marking sales documents is a good habit
4. update personnel policies and practices
Implement a computer use policy
Emails, blogging, chat rooms, postings . . .
Increased risk of intentional
Monitoring and access notice minimize employee privacy expectation
Establish procedures for employees departing for competitors
Avoid long notice periods avoids conflicting loyalties
employer property and confidential information in employees possession
Remind employee of confidentiality obligations
Ensure return of company property
5.conduct an internal trade secret seminar

Impact of Trade Secrets

1.Identify Trade Secrets: identify and categorize trade secret
2. Threat Actor & Vulnerability Assessment: assess threat and possible exposures
3. Economic Impact Analysis: Analyze loss attributable to theft event
4. Secure Trade Secret Portfolio: Enhance ability to secure assets
5. An estimate of trade secret theft across advanced industrial economies
6. An original framework for companies to assess the value of their own trade
secrets

Solution of Trade Secrets

Restrict access to the information (lock it away in a secure place, such as a bank
vault)
Limit the number of people who know the information
Decrease in customer trust and loyalty:
a. Product and service quality
b. Personal data protection
c. Customer security risk
Decrease in innovation:
a. Innovation speed
b. Attracting and keeping talented engineers
Keep trade secrets physically and digitally secure.

Recommendation
Trade secrets are very important to industry. So we recommend that :Identify all valuable trade secrets and develop and put in place a trade secret
protection policy and program.
Seminar employees about the importance of trade secrets and communicate to
them the policy and the program.
Encourage employees to keep secrets of the company.
Limit the number of people who know the information
Decrease in customer trust and loyalty: