INTERNATIONAL / TRADE SECRETS / PROTECTION POLICY

WIPO Magazine, Nos 4 and 5, April and May, 2002

Trade Secrets are Gold Nuggets: Protect Them

Trade Secrets: Policy Framework and Best Practices

These two unsigned articles, in successive issues of the WIPO Magazine, define trade secrets, emphasise their value and discuss the problem of employee disclosure. A trade secret is defined as "any information which is actually or potentially valuable to its owner and not generally known or readily accessible by the public and which the owner has made a reasonable effort to keep secret". It may consist of elements, some or all of which are in the public domain, brought together in a distinctive and valuable form. Among these elements are data compilations; designs, drawings, architectural plans, blueprints and maps; algorithms and related processes; manufacturing or repair techniques and know-how; business strategies and market plans; financial information and personnel records; manuals, ingredients and the like. Although trade secrets provide no protection against those who independently develop secret information, they never expire as patents and industrial designs do. They are, however, particularly vulnerable to exploitation by employees and others. While they may, to some extent, be protected through appropriate clauses in an employment contract, it is essential for companies both to audit their "stock" of trade secrets and to take special precautions where contractors, consultants, vendors, customers, prospective or temporary staff, interns and visitors are concerned. Trade secrets can be valuable assets; and the more dependent a company is on its knowledge-based trade, the more carefully it needs list and value its assets and to protect them accordingly. Intellectual property is carefully protected; trade secrets are just as important. [20069]