aysar202t ‘Trade Secre's
WIPO
WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
Trade Secrets
What is a trade secret?
Trade secrets are intellectual property (IP) rights on
confidential information which may be sold or
licensed.
Video: What is a trade
In general, to qualify as a trade secret, the information must be: secret?
+ commercially valuable because itis secret,
+ be known only to a limited group of persons, and
+ be subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the
information to keep it secret, including the use of confidentiality
‘agreements for business partners and employees.
‘The unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of such secret
information in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices by
others is regarded as an unfair practice and a violation of the trade
secret protection.
> What kind of information is protected by trade secrets’
In general, any confidential business information which provides an
‘enterprise a competitive edge and is unknown to others may be
protected as a trade secret. Trade secrets encompass both technical
information, such as information concerning manufacturing processes,
pharmaceutical test data, designs and drawings of computer programs,
and commercial information, such as distribution methods, list of
suppliers and clients, and advertising strategies.
Atrade secret may be also made up of a combination of elements,
‘each of which by itself is in the public domain, but where the
‘combination, which is kept secret, provides a competitive advantage.
Other examples of information that may be protected by trade secrets
include financial information, formulas and recipes and source codes.
2
Depending on the legal system, the legal protection of trade secrets
forms part of the general concept of protection against unfair
‘competition or is based on specific provisions or case law on the
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‘Trade Secre's
protection of confidential information,
While a final determination of whether trade secret protection is violated
or not depends on the circumstances of each individual case, in
general, unfair practices in respect of secret information include
Industrial or commercial espionage, breach of contract and breach
of confidence.
A trade secret owner, however, cannot stop others from using the same
technical or commercial information, if they acquired or developed such
information independently by themselves through their own R&D,
reverse engineering or marketing analysis, etc. Since trade secrets are
not made public, unlike patents, they do not provide “defensive”
protection, as being prior art. For example, if a specific process of
producing Compound X has been protected by a trade secret, someone
else can obtain a patent or a utility model on the same invention, if the
inventor arrived at that invention independently,
> How can | obti
information?
certified proof of existence for my confidential
WIPO PROOF may be used as a step to preserve the confidentiality of
your information. With a special digital encryption system, it time
stamps your confidential information without being stored outside your
sphere. The encrypted proof, which cannot be modified, can certify the
‘existence of the work at a certain point in time, thus providing a
‘complementary protective measure for your trade secrets.
Read the full lst of trade secrets FAQs.
Trade secrets in action
‘Trade secrets are a key component of IP portfolios helping businesses protect their secret formulas, know-how
and other key information that gives them a competitive edge,
(PHOTO: FLICKRIDOMINIC LOCKYER) (PHOTO: FLICKRIGLENN BROWN) (nore Uz wesn =
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market
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With its main IP being nearly two
hundred years old, Angostura
Limited from Trinidad and Tobago
has found that the best way to
protect its product is through using
trade secrets.
Laws and treaties
International treaties
The Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property
(Paris Convention) administered
by WIPO deals parly with the
protection of trade secrets as,
does the World Trade
Organization's (WTO) Agreement
on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS Agreement).
Related links
Information resources
Case studies
Articles
Teaching material: IP Panorama
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‘Trade Secre's
Although patents are the primary
tool with which Thailand's National
Science and Technology
Development Agency protects its
innovations, at times trade secrets
are necessary, in particular for the
protection of know-how.
IP laws and treaties (WIPO Lex)
The WIPO Lex database is a
comprehensive search tool that
allows you to search national laws
and international treaties on
intellectual property.
Workshops and seminars
tual property may be sold or icensed &te
‘American software company
Tiatros Inc. protects its know-how
and trade secrets to ensure its
competitiveness.
Symposi
Secrets
an ion
al 4
Secrets and Innovation
(November 2019) - Exchanging
ideas and perspectives on issues
relating to the interface between
trade secrets and innovation.
About IP
Patents
Trademarks
Copyright
Industrial designs
Geographical indications
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