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Trade secret - Wikipedia
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class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Uniform_lawmaking_and_legislation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Uniform lawmaking and legislation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Uniform_lawmaking_and_legislation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-International_standards" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#International_standards"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4</span> <span>International standards</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-International_standards-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Value" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Value"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Value</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Value-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Protection" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Protection"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Protection</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Protection-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Misappropriation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Misappropriation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Misappropriation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Misappropriation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Exceptions_and_limitations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Exceptions_and_limitations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Exceptions and limitations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Exceptions_and_limitations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-By_nation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#By_nation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>By nation</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-By_nation-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle By nation subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-By_nation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Commonwealth_nations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Commonwealth_nations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.1</span> <span>Commonwealth nations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Commonwealth_nations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-European_Union" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#European_Union"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.2</span> <span>European Union</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-European_Union-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-United_States" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#United_States"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.3</span> <span>United States</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-United_States-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Comparison_to_other_intellectual_property_laws" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Comparison_to_other_intellectual_property_laws"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Comparison to other intellectual property laws</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Comparison_to_other_intellectual_property_laws-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Public_safety" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Public_safety"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Public safety</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Public_safety-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Public safety subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Public_safety-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-United_States_2" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#United_States_2"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.1</span> <span>United States</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-United_States_2-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Cases" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Cases"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>Cases</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Cases-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">13</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">14</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Trade secret</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 34 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-34" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">34 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D8%B1_%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A" title="سر تجاري – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="سر تجاري" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticar%C9%99t_sirri" title="Ticarət sirri – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Ticarət sirri" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%BB%D1%91%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%8F%D0%BC%D0%BD%D1%96%D1%86%D0%B0" title="Гандлёвая таямніца – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Гандлёвая таямніца" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D1%8A%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B0" title="Търговска тайна – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Търговска тайна" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obchodn%C3%AD_tajemstv%C3%AD" title="Obchodní tajemství – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Obchodní tajemství" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cy mw-list-item"><a href="https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyfrinach_masnach" title="Cyfrinach masnach – Welsh" lang="cy" hreflang="cy" data-title="Cyfrinach masnach" data-language-autonym="Cymraeg" data-language-local-name="Welsh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Cymraeg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betriebs-_und_Gesch%C3%A4ftsgeheimnis" title="Betriebs- und Geschäftsgeheimnis – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Betriebs- und Geschäftsgeheimnis" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secreto_comercial" title="Secreto comercial – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Secreto comercial" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C" title="اسرار تجاری – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="اسرار تجاری" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_d%27affaires" title="Secret d'affaires – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Secret d'affaires" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%98%81%EC%97%85_%EB%B9%84%EB%B0%80" title="영업 비밀 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="영업 비밀" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D4%B1%D5%BC%D6%87%D5%BF%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AB%D5%B6_%D5%A3%D5%A1%D5%B2%D5%BF%D5%B6%D5%AB%D6%84" title="Առևտրային գաղտնիք – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Առևտրային գաղտնիք" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A1_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9F" title="ट्रेड सीक्रेट – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="ट्रेड सीक्रेट" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahasia_dagang" title="Rahasia dagang – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Rahasia dagang" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi%C3%B0skiptaleynd" title="Viðskiptaleynd – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Viðskiptaleynd" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segreto_industriale" title="Segreto industriale – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Segreto industriale" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%93_%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%97%D7%A8%D7%99" title="סוד מסחרי – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="סוד מסחרי" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Czleti_titok" title="Üzleti titok – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Üzleti titok" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahsia_perdagangan" title="Rahsia perdagangan – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Rahsia perdagangan" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mn mw-list-item"><a href="https://mn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8B_%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%83%D1%86" title="Арилжааны нууц – Mongolian" lang="mn" hreflang="mn" data-title="Арилжааны нууц" data-language-autonym="Монгол" data-language-local-name="Mongolian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Монгол</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%88%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E3%82%B7%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%83%83%E3%83%88" title="トレードシークレット – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="トレードシークレット" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forretningshemmelighet" title="Forretningshemmelighet – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Forretningshemmelighet" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajemnica_przedsi%C4%99biorstwa" title="Tajemnica przedsiębiorstwa – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Tajemnica przedsiębiorstwa" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segredo_comercial" title="Segredo comercial – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Segredo comercial" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_comercial" title="Secret comercial – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Secret comercial" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B0" title="Коммерческая тайна – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Коммерческая тайна" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_secret" title="Trade secret – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Trade secret" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obchodn%C3%A9_tajomstvo" title="Obchodné tajomstvo – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Obchodné tajomstvo" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poslovna_tajna" title="Poslovna tajna – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Poslovna tajna" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%84%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2" title="ความลับทางการค้า – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="ความลับทางการค้า" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticari_s%C4%B1r" title="Ticari sır – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Ticari sır" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%86%D1%96%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%94%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%8F" title="Комерційна таємниця – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Комерційна таємниця" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a 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title="Supplementary protection certificate">Supplementary protection certificate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trade_dress" title="Trade dress">Trade dress</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Trade secret</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trademark" title="Trademark">Trademark</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utility_model" title="Utility model">Utility model</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Related topics</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abandonware" title="Abandonware">Abandonware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_and_copyright" title="Artificial intelligence and copyright">Artificial intelligence and copyright</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brand_protection" title="Brand protection">Brand protection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Copyright_abolition" title="Copyright abolition">Copyright abolition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Copyright_troll" title="Copyright troll">Copyright troll</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Criticism_of_copyright" title="Criticism of copyright">Criticism of copyright</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bioprospecting" title="Bioprospecting">Bioprospecting</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Biopiracy" title="Biopiracy">Biopiracy</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Idea%E2%80%93expression_distinction" title="Idea–expression distinction">Idea–expression distinction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Limitations_and_exceptions_to_copyright" title="Limitations and exceptions to copyright">Limitations and exceptions to copyright</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fair_dealing" title="Fair dealing">Fair dealing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fair_use" title="Fair use">Fair use</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paraphrasing_of_copyrighted_material" title="Paraphrasing of copyrighted material">Paraphrasing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Right_to_quote" title="Right to quote">Right to quote</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orphan_work" title="Orphan work">Orphan work</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patent_troll" title="Patent troll">Patent troll</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pirate_Party" title="Pirate Party">Pirate Party</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public_domain" title="Public domain">Public domain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_intellectual_property" title="Outline of intellectual property">Outline of intellectual property</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_patents" title="Outline of patents">Outline of patents</a></li></ul></li></ul> <hr /> <i>Higher categories:</i><br /><a href="/wiki/Property" title="Property">Property</a> and <a href="/wiki/Property_law" title="Property law">Property law</a></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Intellectual_property" title="Template:Intellectual property"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Intellectual_property" title="Template talk:Intellectual property"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Intellectual_property" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Intellectual property"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>A <b>trade secret</b> is a form of <a href="/wiki/Intellectual_property" title="Intellectual property">intellectual property</a> comprising confidential information that is not generally known or readily ascertainable, derives economic value from its secrecy, and is protected by reasonable efforts to maintain its confidentiality.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-:1_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Well-known examples include the <a href="/wiki/Coca-Cola_formula" title="Coca-Cola formula">Coca-Cola formula</a> and the recipe for <a href="/wiki/KFC_Original_Recipe" title="KFC Original Recipe">Kentucky Fried Chicken</a>. </p><p>Unlike other forms of intellectual property, trade secrets do not require formal registration and can be protected indefinitely, as long as they remain undisclosed.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Instead, <a href="/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement" title="Non-disclosure agreement">non-disclosure agreements</a> (NDAs), among other measures, are commonly used to keep the information secret.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Oftentimes, trade secrets are key components of an IP portfolio that strengthen a business's competitive edge. Like other IP assets, they may be sold or licensed. In principle, unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret by others in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices is considered misappropriation of the trade secret. If trade secret <a href="/wiki/Misappropriation_of_assets" class="mw-redirect" title="Misappropriation of assets">misappropriation</a> happens, the trade secret holder can seek various <a href="/wiki/Legal_remedy" title="Legal remedy">legal remedies</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-:WIPO_2024_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:WIPO_2024-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Definition">Definition</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Definition"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The precise definition of a trade secret varies by jurisdiction, as do the types of information eligible trade secret protection. However, in general, trade secrets are confidential information that is: </p> <ul><li>not generally known among or accessible to individuals within the relevant business sector;<sup id="cite_ref-:1_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>commercially valuable because it is secret;<sup id="cite_ref-:1_3-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and</li> <li>subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_3-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0098_-_Coca-Cola_glass_bottle_(Germany).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0098_-_Coca-Cola_glass_bottle_%28Germany%29.jpg/220px-15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0098_-_Coca-Cola_glass_bottle_%28Germany%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="390" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0098_-_Coca-Cola_glass_bottle_%28Germany%29.jpg/330px-15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0098_-_Coca-Cola_glass_bottle_%28Germany%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0098_-_Coca-Cola_glass_bottle_%28Germany%29.jpg/440px-15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0098_-_Coca-Cola_glass_bottle_%28Germany%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2354" data-file-height="4174" /></a><figcaption>The Coca-Cola formula has been a trade secret since 1891.</figcaption></figure> <p>All three elements are required. If any element ceases to exist, then the trade secret will also cease to exist.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In international law, these three factors define a trade secret under Article 39 of the <a href="/wiki/TRIPS_Agreement" title="TRIPS Agreement">Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights</a> (TRIPS Agreement).<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Trade secret protection covers confidential information, which can include technical and scientific data, business and commercial information, and financial records.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_3-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Even “negative” information, like failed experiments, can be valuable by helping companies avoid repeating costly mistakes.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_3-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_origins">Early origins</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Early origins"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Commentators like <a href="/wiki/A._Arthur_Schiller" title="A. Arthur Schiller">A. Arthur Schiller</a> have argued that trade secrets were protected under <a href="/wiki/Roman_law" title="Roman law">Roman law</a> by a claim known as <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">actio servi corrupti</i></span>, meaning an "action for making a slave worse" or "an action for corrupting a servant." The Roman law is described as follows: </p> <blockquote><p>[T]he Roman owner of a mark or firm name was legally protected against unfair usage by a competitor through the <i>actio servi corrupti</i> ... which the Roman jurists used to grant commercial relief under the guise of private law actions. "If, as the writer believes [writes Schiller], various private cases of action were available in satisfying commercial needs, the state was acting in exactly the same fashion as it does at the present day."<sup id="cite_ref-watson_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-watson-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>The suggestion that trade secret law has its roots in Roman law was introduced in 1929 in a <i><a href="/wiki/Columbia_Law_Review" title="Columbia Law Review">Columbia Law Review</a></i> article called "Trade Secrets and the Roman Law: The <i>Actio Servi Corrupti</i>", which has been reproduced in Schiller's, <i>An American Experience in Roman Law</i> 1 (1971). </p><p>However, the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Georgia_Law_School" class="mw-redirect" title="University of Georgia Law School">University of Georgia Law School</a> professor <a href="/wiki/Alan_Watson_(legal_scholar)" title="Alan Watson (legal scholar)">Alan Watson</a> argued in <i>Trade Secrets and Roman Law: The Myth Exploded </i>that the <i>actio servi corrupti</i> was not used to protect trade secrets. Rather, he explained: </p> <blockquote><p>Schiller is sadly mistaken as to what was going on. ... The <i>actio servi corrupti</i> presumably or possibly could be used to protect trade secrets and other similar commercial interests. That was not its purpose and was, at most, an incidental spin-off. But there is not the slightest evidence that the action was ever so used. In this regard the <i>actio servi corrupti</i> is not unique. Exactly the same can be said of many private law actions including those for theft, damage to property, deposit, and production of property. All of these could, I suppose, be used to protect trade secrets, etc., but there is no evidence they were. It is bizarre to see any degree the Roman actio servi corrupti as the counterpart of modern law for the protection of trade secrets and other such commercial interests.<sup id="cite_ref-watson_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-watson-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_case_law">Early case law</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Early case law"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Modern trade secret law is primarily rooted in Anglo-American <a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">common law</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-:2_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:2-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: 6">(p6)</span></sup> The earliest recorded court case was the 1817 English case <i>Newbery v. James,</i> which involved a secret formula for gout treatment.<sup id="cite_ref-:3_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:3-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-:2_10-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:2-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: 5">(p5)</span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the United States, this concept was first recognized in the 1837 case <i>Vickery v. Welch</i>, involving the sale of a chocolate factory and the seller’s agreement to keep the secret recipe confidential.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><i>Newbery</i> and <i>Vickery</i> only awarded compensation for losses (<a href="/wiki/Damages" title="Damages">damages</a>) and did not issue orders to prevent the misuse of secrets (<a href="/wiki/Injunction" title="Injunction">injunctive relief</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-:2_10-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:2-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: 5">(p5)</span></sup> The first English case involving injunctive relief was <i>Yovatt v. Winyard</i> in 1820, where the court issued an injunction to prevent a former employee from using or disclosing recipes he had secretly copied from his employer's veterinary medicine practice.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the United States, the 1868 Massachusetts Supreme Court decision in <i>Peabody v. Norfolk</i> is one of the most well-known and well-reasoned early trade secret case, establishing foundational legal principles that continue to be central to common law.<sup id="cite_ref-:4_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:4-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In this case, the court ruled that Peabody’s confidential manufacturing process was a protectable trade secret and issued an injunction preventing former employees from using or disclosing it after they shared it with a competitor.<sup id="cite_ref-:4_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:4-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Uniform_lawmaking_and_legislation">Uniform lawmaking and legislation</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Uniform lawmaking and legislation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 1939, the <i>Restatement of Torts,</i> published by the <a href="/wiki/American_Law_Institute" title="American Law Institute">American Law Institute</a>, offered, among other things, one of the earliest formal definitions of a trade secret. According to Section 757, Comment b, a trade secret may consist of "any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information which is used in one's business, and which gives the business an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it."<sup id="cite_ref-:5_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:5-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: 278">(p278)</span></sup> This definition became widely used by courts across the United States. <sup id="cite_ref-:5_19-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:5-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: 278">(p278)</span></sup> As the first attempt to outline the accepted principles of trade secret law, the <i>Restatement</i> served as the primary authority adopted in virtually every reported case.<sup id="cite_ref-:5_19-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:5-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: 282">(p282)</span></sup> </p><p>Trade secret law saw further development in 1979 when the <a href="/wiki/Uniform_Law_Commission" title="Uniform Law Commission">Uniform Law Commission</a> (ULC) introduced a model law known as the <a href="/wiki/Uniform_Trade_Secrets_Act" title="Uniform Trade Secrets Act">Uniform Trade Secrets Act</a> (UTSA), which was later amended in 1985. The UTSA defines the types of information eligible for trade secret protection, establishes a private cause of action for misappropriation, and outlines remedies such as injunctions, damages, and, in certain cases, attorneys' fees.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It has since been adopted by 48 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with New York and North Carolina as the exceptions.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-:6_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:6-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The UTSA influenced the <a href="/wiki/Defend_Trade_Secrets_Act" title="Defend Trade Secrets Act">Defend Trade Secrets Act</a> (DTSA) of 2016, which created a federal civil <a href="/wiki/Cause_of_action" title="Cause of action">cause of action</a> for trade secret misappropriation, allowing plaintiffs to file cases directly in federal courts if "the trade secret is related to a product or service used in ... interstate or foreign commerce."<sup id="cite_ref-:6_22-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:6-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="International_standards">International standards</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: International standards"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Trade secret law is governed by national legal systems.<sup id="cite_ref-:7_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:7-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, international standards for protecting secrets (called “undisclosed information”) were established as part of the <a href="/wiki/TRIPS_Agreement" title="TRIPS Agreement">TRIPS Agreement</a> in 1995.<sup id="cite_ref-:7_23-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:7-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Article 39 of TRIPS obligates member countries to protect “undisclosed information” from unauthorized use conducted “in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices,” including actions such as breach of contract, breach of confidence, and unfair competition. For the information to qualify, it must not be generally known or easily accessible, must hold value due to its secrecy, and must be safeguarded through “reasonable steps” to keep it secret.<sup id="cite_ref-:7_23-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:7-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Value">Value</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Value"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Trade secrets are an important, but invisible component of a company's <a href="/wiki/Intellectual_property" title="Intellectual property">intellectual property</a> (IP). Their contribution to a company's value can be major.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Being invisible, that contribution is hard to measure.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Still, research shows that changes in trade secrets laws affect business spending on <a href="/wiki/Research_and_development" title="Research and development">R&D</a> and <a href="/wiki/Patent" title="Patent">patents</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This research provides indirect evidence of the value of trade secrecy. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Protection">Protection</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Protection"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Unlike other forms of <a href="/wiki/Intellectual_property" title="Intellectual property">intellectual property</a>, trade secrets do not require formal registration and can be protected indefinitely, as long as they remain secret.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_4-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Maintaining secrecy is both a practical necessity and a legal obligation, as trade secret owners must take "reasonable" measures to protect the confidentiality of their trade secrets to qualify for legal protection.<sup id="cite_ref-:8_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:8-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: 4">(p4)</span></sup> "Reasonable" efforts are decided case by case, considering factors like the type and value of the secret, its importance to the business, the company’s size, and its organizational complexity.<sup id="cite_ref-:8_29-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:8-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: 4">(p4)</span></sup> </p><p>The most common reason for trade secret disputes to arise is when former employees of trade secret-bearing companies leave to work for a competitor and are suspected of taking or using valuable confidential information belonging to their former employer.<sup id="cite_ref-auto_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-auto-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Legal protections include <a href="/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement" title="Non-disclosure agreement">non-disclosure agreements</a> (NDAs), and <a href="/wiki/Work-for-hire" class="mw-redirect" title="Work-for-hire">work-for-hire</a> and <a href="/wiki/Non-compete_clause" title="Non-compete clause">non-compete clauses</a>. In other words, in exchange for an opportunity to be employed by the holder of secrets, an employee may agree to not reveal their prospective employer's proprietary information, to surrender or assign to their employer ownership rights to intellectual work and work-products produced during the course (or as a condition) of employment, and to not work for a competitor for a given period of time (sometimes within a given geographic region). </p><p>Violating the agreement generally carries the possibility of heavy financial penalties, thus disincentivizing the revealing of trade secrets. Trade secret information can be protected through legal action including an injunction preventing <a href="/wiki/Breach_of_confidence" title="Breach of confidence">breaches of confidentiality</a>, monetary damages, and, in some instances, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees too. In extraordinary circumstances, an <i>ex parte seizure</i> under the <a href="/wiki/Defend_Trade_Secrets_Act" title="Defend Trade Secrets Act">Defend Trade Secrets Act</a> (DTSA) also allows for the court to seize property to prevent the propagation or dissemination of the trade secret.<sup id="cite_ref-auto_30-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-auto-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>However, proving a breach of an NDA by a former stakeholder who is legally working for a competitor or prevailing in a lawsuit for breaching a non-compete clause can be very difficult.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A holder of a trade secret may also require similar agreements from other parties, such as vendors, licensees, and board members. </p><p>As a company can protect its confidential information through NDA, work-for-hire, and non-compete contracts with its stakeholders (within the constraints of employment law, including only restraint that is reasonable in geographic- and time-scope), these protective contractual measures effectively create a monopoly on secret information that does not expire as would a <a href="/wiki/Patent" title="Patent">patent</a> or <a href="/wiki/Copyright" title="Copyright">copyright</a>. The lack of formal protection associated with registered intellectual property rights, however, means that a third party not bound by a signed agreement is not prevented from independently duplicating and using the secret information once it is discovered, such as through <a href="/wiki/Reverse_engineering" title="Reverse engineering">reverse engineering</a>. </p> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Chartreuse-bottle.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Chartreuse-bottle.jpg/180px-Chartreuse-bottle.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="240" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Chartreuse-bottle.jpg/270px-Chartreuse-bottle.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Chartreuse-bottle.jpg/360px-Chartreuse-bottle.jpg 2x" data-file-width="480" data-file-height="640" /></a><figcaption>Green <a href="/wiki/Chartreuse_liqueur" class="mw-redirect" title="Chartreuse liqueur">Chartreuse liqueur</a> protected by confidential information of the ingredients</figcaption></figure> <p>Therefore, trade secrets such as secret formulae are often protected by restricting the key information to a few trusted individuals. Famous examples of products protected by trade secrets are <a href="/wiki/Chartreuse_liqueur" class="mw-redirect" title="Chartreuse liqueur">Chartreuse liqueur</a> and <a href="/wiki/Coca-Cola" title="Coca-Cola">Coca-Cola</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Because protection of trade secrets can, in principle, extend indefinitely, it may provide an advantage over patent protection and other registered intellectual property rights, which last for a limited duration. For example, the Coca-Cola company has no patent for the <a href="/wiki/Coca-Cola_formula" title="Coca-Cola formula">formula of Coca-Cola</a> and has been effective in protecting it for many more years than the 20 years of protection that a patent would have provided. In fact, Coca-Cola refused to reveal its trade secret under at least two judges' orders.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Trade secret legal protection can reduce the knowledge spillover, which enhances the knowledge spread and technology improvement.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Therefore, while trade secret laws strengthen R&D exclusivity and encourage firms to engage in innovative activities, broadly reducing <a href="/wiki/Knowledge_spillover" title="Knowledge spillover">knowledge spillovers</a> can harm economic growth. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Misappropriation">Misappropriation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Misappropriation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Companies often try to discover one another's trade secrets through lawful methods of <a href="/wiki/Reverse_engineering" title="Reverse engineering">reverse engineering</a> or <a href="/wiki/Employee_poaching" title="Employee poaching">employee poaching</a>, and potentially unlawful methods including <a href="/wiki/Industrial_espionage" title="Industrial espionage">industrial espionage</a>. Acts of industrial espionage are generally illegal and penalties can be harsh.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The importance of that illegality to trade secret law is: if a trade secret is acquired by improper means (a somewhat wider concept than "illegal means" but inclusive of such means), then the secret is generally deemed to have been <i>misappropriated</i>. Thus, if a trade secret has been acquired via industrial espionage, its acquirer will probably be subject to legal liability for having acquired it improperly. However, the holder of the trade secret is obliged to protect against such espionage to some degree, as under most trade secret regimes, a trade secret is not deemed to exist unless its purported holder takes reasonable steps to maintain its secrecy.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Exceptions_and_limitations">Exceptions and limitations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Exceptions and limitations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>While improper, dishonest or unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of trade secret information by unauthorized third parties is prohibited in principle, there are several exceptions to this principle. The exceptions and limitations vary among the juridiction. Some of those may be </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Independent_discovery" class="mw-redirect" title="Independent discovery">Independent discovery</a> or development of the same information by a third party;</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reverse_engineering" title="Reverse engineering">Reverse engineering</a>, acquisition of information through reverse engineering from examining a product placed in the market. In some countries though, a contract (such as a purchase agreement) may forbid to carry out reverse engineering;</li> <li>Employee’s general skills and experience acquired from the normal course of work with other employers;</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public_interest" title="Public interest">Public interest</a> and <a href="/wiki/National_security" title="National security">national security</a> per statutory law or case law in some countries;</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Whistleblowing" title="Whistleblowing">Whistleblowing</a> when revealing misconduct, wrongdoing or illegal activity.<sup id="cite_ref-:WIPO_2024_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:WIPO_2024-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="By_nation">By nation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: By nation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Commonwealth_nations">Commonwealth nations</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Commonwealth nations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations" title="Commonwealth of Nations">Commonwealth</a> <a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">common law</a> jurisdictions, confidentiality and trade secrets are regarded as an <a href="/wiki/Equity_(law)" title="Equity (law)">equitable</a> right rather than a <a href="/wiki/Property" title="Property">property</a> right.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Breach_of_confidence_in_English_law" title="Breach of confidence in English law">Breach of confidence in English law</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Court_of_Appeal_of_England_and_Wales" class="mw-redirect" title="Court of Appeal of England and Wales">Court of Appeal of England and Wales</a> in the case of <i>Saltman Engineering Co Ltd v. Campbell Engineering Ltd</i><sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> held that the action for breach of confidence is based on a principle of preserving "good faith". </p><p>The test for a cause of action for breach of confidence in the <a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">common law</a> world is set out in the case of <i>Coco v. A.N. Clark (Engineers) Ltd</i>:<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <ul><li>The information itself must have the necessary quality of confidence about it;</li> <li>That information must have been imparted in circumstances imparting an obligation of confidence;</li> <li>There must be an unauthorized use of that information to the detriment of the party communicating it.</li></ul> <p>The "quality of confidence" highlights that trade secrets are a legal concept. With sufficient effort or through illegal acts (such as breaking and entering), 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.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2007)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>A successful plaintiff is entitled to various forms of <a href="/wiki/Judicial_relief" class="mw-redirect" title="Judicial relief">judicial relief</a>, including: </p> <ul><li>An <a href="/wiki/Injunction" title="Injunction">injunction</a></li> <li>An <a href="/wiki/Account_of_profits" title="Account of profits">account of profits</a> or an award of <a href="/wiki/Damages" title="Damages">damages</a></li> <li>A <a href="/wiki/Declaration_(law)" title="Declaration (law)">declaration</a></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Hong_Kong" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a> does not follow the traditional commonwealth approach, instead recognizing trade secrets where a judgment of the High Court indicates that confidential information may be a property right.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="European_Union">European Union</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: European Union"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The EU adopted a <a href="/wiki/Directive_on_the_Protection_of_Trade_Secrets" title="Directive on the Protection of Trade Secrets">Directive on the Protection of Trade Secrets</a> on 27 May 2016.<sup id="cite_ref-eudirective_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-eudirective-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The goal of the directive is to harmonize the definition of trade secrets in accordance with existing international standards, and the means of obtaining protection of trade secrets within the EU.<sup id="cite_ref-eudirective_41-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-eudirective-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="United_States">United States</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: United States"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Within the U.S., trade secrets generally encompass a company's proprietary information that is not generally known to its competitors, and which provides the company with a competitive advantage.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Although trade secrets law evolved under state common law, prior to 1974, the question of whether patent law preempted state trade secrets law had been unanswered. In 1974, the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Supreme Court">United States Supreme Court</a> issued the landmark decision, <i>Kewanee Oil Co. v. Bicron Corp.,</i> which resolved the question in favor of allowing the states to freely develop their own trade secret laws.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/List_of_United_States_state_trade_secret_laws" title="List of United States state trade secret laws">List of United States state trade secret laws</a></div> <p>In 1979, several U.S. states adopted the <a href="/wiki/Uniform_Trade_Secrets_Act" title="Uniform Trade Secrets Act">Uniform Trade Secrets Act</a> (UTSA), which was further amended in 1985, with approximately 47 states having adopted some variation of it as the basis for trade secret law. Another significant development is the <a href="/wiki/Economic_Espionage_Act_of_1996" title="Economic Espionage Act of 1996">Economic Espionage Act (EEA) of 1996</a> (<a href="/wiki/Title_18_of_the_United_States_Code" title="Title 18 of the United States Code">18 U.S.C.</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1831">§§ 1831</a>–<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1839">1839</a>), which makes the theft or misappropriation of a trade secret a federal crime. </p><p>This law contains two provisions criminalizing two sorts of activity: </p> <ol><li><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><a href="/wiki/Title_18_of_the_United_States_Code" title="Title 18 of the United States Code">18 U.S.C.</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1831#a">§ 1831(a)</a></span>, criminalizes the theft of trade secrets to benefit foreign powers.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Title_18_of_the_United_States_Code" title="Title 18 of the United States Code">18 U.S.C.</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1832">§ 1832</a>, criminalizes their theft for commercial or economic purposes.</li></ol> <p>The statutory penalties are different for the two offenses. The EEA was extended in 2016 to allow companies to file civil suits in federal court.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the <a href="/wiki/Defend_Trade_Secrets_Act" title="Defend Trade Secrets Act">Defend Trade Secrets Act</a> (DTSA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1839 et seq., which for the first time created a federal cause of action for misappropriating trade secrets.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The DTSA provides for both a private right of action for damages and injunction and a civil action for injunction brought by the Attorney General.<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The statute followed state laws on liability in significant part, defining trade secrets in the same way as the Uniform Trade Secrets Act as, </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>"all forms and types of financial, business, scientific, technical, economic, or engineering information, including patterns, plans, compilations, program devices, formulas, designs, prototypes, methods, techniques, processes, procedures, programs, or codes, whether tangible or intangible, and whether or how stored, compiled, or memorialized physically, electronically, graphically, photographically, or in writing if (A) the owner thereof has taken reasonable measures to keep such information secret; and (B) the information derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable through proper means by, another person who can obtain economic value from the disclosure or use of the information." </p></blockquote> <p>However, the law contains several important differences from prior law: </p> <ol><li>Because it is a federal law, trade secret cases can be prosecuted in federal courts with concomitant procedural advantages.</li> <li>It provides for the unusual remedy of preliminary seizure of "property necessary to prevent the propagation or dissemination of the trade secret," 18 U.S.C. §1836</li> <li>It provides for remedies to include royalties in appropriate cases and exemplary damages up to two times the actual damages in cases of "willful and malicious" appropriation, 18 U.S.C. §1836(b)(3).</li></ol> <p>The DTSA also clarifies that a United States resident (including a company) can be liable for misappropriation that takes place outside the United States, and any person can be liable as long as an act in furtherance of the misappropriation takes place in the United States, 18 U.S.C. §1837. The DTSA provides the courts with broad injunctive powers. 18 U.S.C. §1836(b)(3). </p><p>The DTSA does not preempt or supplant state laws, but provides an additional cause of action. Because states vary significantly in their approach to the "inevitable disclosure" doctrine,<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> its use has limited, if any, application under the DTSA, 18 U.S.C.§1836(b)(3)(A).<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Comparison_to_other_intellectual_property_laws">Comparison to other intellectual property laws</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Comparison to other intellectual property laws"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the United States, trade secrets are not protected by law in the same way as <a href="/wiki/Patent" title="Patent">patents</a> or <a href="/wiki/Trademark" title="Trademark">trademarks</a>. While the US Constitution explicitly <a href="/wiki/Copyright_Clause" title="Copyright Clause">authorizes</a> the existence of and the federal jurisdiction over <a href="/wiki/United_States_patent_law" title="United States patent law">patents</a> and <a href="/wiki/Copyrights" class="mw-redirect" title="Copyrights">copyrights</a>, it is silent on trade secrets, <a href="/wiki/Trademarks" class="mw-redirect" title="Trademarks">trademarks</a>, etc. For this reason, Federal Law for the latter types of intellectual property is based on the <a href="/wiki/Commerce_Clause" title="Commerce Clause">Commerce Clause</a> (rather than the <a href="/wiki/Copyright_Clause" title="Copyright Clause">Copyright Clause</a>) under a theory, that these IP types are used for <a href="/wiki/Interstate_commerce" class="mw-redirect" title="Interstate commerce">interstate commerce</a>. On other hand, the application of the Interstate Commerce Theory did not find much judicial support in regulating trade secrets: since a trade secret process is used in a State, where it is protected by state law, federal protection may be needed only when <a href="/wiki/Industrial_espionage" title="Industrial espionage">industrial espionage</a> by a foreign entity is involved (the States themselves cannot regulate commerce with foreign powers). </p><p>Due these Constitutional requirements, patents and trademarks enjoy a strong federal protection in the USA (the <a href="/wiki/Lanham_Act" title="Lanham Act">Lanham Act</a> and <a href="/wiki/United_States_patent_law" title="United States patent law">Patent Act</a>, respectively), while trade secrets usually have to rely on more limited <a href="/wiki/State_law_(United_States)" title="State law (United States)">state laws</a>. Most states have adopted the <a href="/wiki/Uniform_Trade_Secrets_Act" title="Uniform Trade Secrets Act">Uniform Trade Secrets Act</a> (UTSA), except for <a href="/wiki/Massachusetts" title="Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a>, <a href="/wiki/New_York_(state)" title="New York (state)">New York</a>, and <a href="/wiki/North_Carolina" title="North Carolina">North Carolina</a>. However, since 2016 with the enactment of the <a href="/wiki/Defend_Trade_Secrets_Act" title="Defend Trade Secrets Act">Defend Trade Secrets Act</a> (DTSA), some additional trade secrets protection has become also available under federal law. One of the differences between patents and trademarks, on the one hand, and trade secrets, on the other, is that a trade secret is protected only when the owner has taken reasonable measures to protect the information as a secret (see <a href="/wiki/Title_18_of_the_United_States_Code" title="Title 18 of the United States Code">18 U.S.C.</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1839">§ 1839</a>(3)(A)). </p><p>Nations have different trademark policies. Assuming the mark in question meets certain other standards of protectibility, trademarks are generally 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 <a href="/wiki/Service_mark" title="Service mark">service marks</a> and <a href="/wiki/Trade_dress" title="Trade dress">trade dress</a>. By definition, a trademark enjoys no protection (<i>qua</i> 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 <em>use</em> a certain trademark might itself be protectable as a trade secret, however, until the mark is actually made public.)<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> To acquire a <a href="/wiki/United_States_trademark_law" title="United States trademark law">trademark rights under U.S. law</a>, one must simply use the mark "in commerce".<sup id="cite_ref-USPTO-FAQ_50-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-USPTO-FAQ-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is possible to register a trademark in the United States, both at the federal and state levels. Registration of trademarks confers some advantages, including stronger protection in certain respects, but registration is not required in order to get protection.<sup id="cite_ref-USPTO-FAQ_50-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-USPTO-FAQ-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Registration may be required in order to file a lawsuit for trademark infringement. </p><p>To acquire a patent, <a href="/wiki/Sufficiency_of_disclosure" title="Sufficiency of disclosure">enabling</a> information about the method or product has to be supplied to a patent office and upon publication (usually, years before issuance of a patent), it becomes available to all. After expiration of the patent, competitors can copy the method or product legally. The most important advantage of patents (compared to <a href="/wiki/Trade_secrets" class="mw-redirect" title="Trade secrets">trade secrets</a>) is that patents assure the monopoly of their owners, even when the patented subject matter is independently invented by others later (there are <a href="/wiki/Easement" title="Easement">some exceptions</a>), as well as when the patented subject matter was invented by others prior to the patent's <a href="/wiki/Priority_date" title="Priority date">priority date</a>, kept as a trade secret, and used by the other in its business. Although it is legally possible to "convert" a trade secret into a patent, the claims in such patent would be limited to things, that are easily discernable from examining such things. This means, that <a href="/wiki/Compositions_of_matter" class="mw-redirect" title="Compositions of matter">compositions of matter</a> and <a href="/wiki/Articles_of_manufacture" class="mw-redirect" title="Articles of manufacture">articles of manufacture</a> can not be patented after they become available to public, while <a href="/wiki/Method_(patent)" title="Method (patent)">processes</a> can. </p><p>The temporary <a href="/wiki/Monopoly" title="Monopoly">monopoly</a> on the patented invention is regarded as a <a href="/wiki/Quid_pro_quo" title="Quid pro quo">pay-off</a> for disclosing the information to the public.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (September 2019)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> In order to obtain a patent, the inventor must <a href="/wiki/Sufficiency_of_disclosure" title="Sufficiency of disclosure">disclose the invention</a>, so that others will be able to both make and use the invention. Often, an invention will be improved after filing of the patent application, and additional information will be learned. None of that additional information must be disclosed through the patent application process, and it may thus be kept as a trade secret.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> That nondisclosed information will often increase the commercial viability of the patent. Most patent licenses include clauses that require the inventor to disclose any trade secrets they have, and patent licensors must be careful to maintain their trade secrets while licensing a patent through such means as the use of a <a href="/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement" title="Non-disclosure agreement">non-disclosure agreement</a>. Compared to patents, the advantages of trade secrets are that a trade secret is not time limited (it "continues indefinitely as long as the secret is not revealed to the public", whereas a patent is only in force for a specified time, after which others may freely copy the invention), a trade secret does not imply any registration costs,<sup id="cite_ref-klinkert-6_52-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-klinkert-6-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> has an immediate effect, does not require compliance with any formalities, and does not imply any disclosure of the invention to the public.<sup id="cite_ref-klinkert-6_52-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-klinkert-6-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The disadvantages of trade secrets include that "others may be able to legally discover the secret and be thereafter entitled to use it", "others may obtain patent protection for legally discovered secrets", and a trade secret is more difficult to enforce than a patent.<sup id="cite_ref-klinkert-7_53-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-klinkert-7-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Public_safety">Public safety</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Public safety"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="United_States_2">United States</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: United States"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act" title="Freedom of Information Act">Freedom of Information Act</a> of 1966 (FOIA), which requires federal agencies to provide documents to the public on request, includes the discretionary exemption - to withhold information for trade secrets.<sup id="cite_ref-jama_54-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jama-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Thus trade secret regulations can mask the composition of chemical agents in <a href="/wiki/Consumer_product" class="mw-redirect" title="Consumer product">consumer products</a> which has long been criticized for allowing the trade secret holders to hide the presence of potentially harmful and <a href="/wiki/Toxicity" title="Toxicity">toxic substances</a>. It has been argued that the public is being denied a clear picture of such products' safety, whereas competitors are well positioned to analyze its chemical composition.<sup id="cite_ref-fitzgerald_55-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fitzgerald-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2004, the National Environmental Trust tested 40 common consumer products; in more than half of them they found toxic substances not listed on the <a href="/wiki/Product_label" class="mw-redirect" title="Product label">product label</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-fitzgerald_55-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fitzgerald-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Cases">Cases</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Cases"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Data_General_Corp._v._Digital_Computer_Controls,_Inc." title="Data General Corp. v. Digital Computer Controls, Inc.">Data General Corp. v. Digital Computer Controls, Inc.</a></i>, 297 A.2d 433 (Del. Ch. 1971): protection and disclosure of design documents.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rivendell_Forest_Prods._v._Georgia-Pacific_Corp." class="mw-redirect" title="Rivendell Forest Prods. v. Georgia-Pacific Corp.">Rivendell Forest Prods. v. Georgia-Pacific Corp.</a></i>, 28 F.3d 1042: trade secrets and software systems.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/IBM_v._Papermaster" class="mw-redirect" title="IBM v. Papermaster">IBM v. Papermaster</a></i> (No. 08-9078, 2008 U.S. Dist): <a href="/wiki/Mark_Papermaster" title="Mark Papermaster">Mark Papermaster</a> moving from <a href="/wiki/IBM" title="IBM">IBM</a> to <a href="/wiki/Apple_computer" class="mw-redirect" title="Apple computer">Apple computer</a> in 2008.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Du_Pont_de_Nemours_and_Company_v._Kolon_Industries_Incorporated" class="mw-redirect" title="Du Pont de Nemours and Company v. Kolon Industries Incorporated">Du Pont de Nemours and Company v. Kolon Industries Incorporated</a></i>, Nos. 10-1103, 10-1275. <a href="/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Fourth_Circuit" title="United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit">U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit</a>. Argued Oct. 26, 2010–March 11, 2011.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> trade secrets case involving Kevlar fiber, resulting in award to DuPont of ~US$920 million.<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>57<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>58<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>59<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Silvaco_Data_Systems_v._Intel_Corp." title="Silvaco Data Systems v. Intel Corp.">Silvaco Data Systems v. Intel Corp.</a></i> addressed the question of whether possession of software <a href="/wiki/Object_code" title="Object code">object code</a> can result in misappropriation of trade secrets</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Christou_v._Beatport,_LLC" title="Christou v. Beatport, LLC">Christou v. Beatport, LLC</a></i> constituted that <a href="/wiki/MySpace" class="mw-redirect" title="MySpace">MySpace</a> profiles could be held as trade secrets.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Biswamohan_Pani" title="Biswamohan Pani">Biswamohan Pani</a> – Designer charged in 2008 with stealing $1 billion worth of trade secrets from Intel</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Data_breach" title="Data breach">Data breach</a> – Intentional or unintentional release of secure information</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trade_secrets_in_Canada" title="Trade secrets in Canada">Trade secrets in Canada</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/trade_secret">"trade secret"</a>. <i>LII / Legal Information Institute</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>. <q>The UTSA defines a 'trade secret' as: Information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process that: Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=LII+%2F+Legal+Information+Institute&rft.atitle=trade+secret&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.law.cornell.edu%2Fwex%2Ftrade_secret&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/running-business/intellectual-property/trade-secrets/index_en.htm">"Trade secrets in the EU: What is protected?"</a>. <i>Your Europe</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>. <q>If you possess valuable information on technology or on any other aspect of your business, you can protect it as a trade secret if the following conditions are met: the information is not known either by the public at large or by the experts of the sector in question[,] the information has commercial value[, and] you have taken steps to keep the information secret: for example, you keep it in safe storage and you have signed non-disclosure agreements with anyone that has access to it or with whom you have shared the information</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Your+Europe&rft.atitle=Trade+secrets+in+the+EU%3A+What+is+protected%3F&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Feuropa.eu%2Fyoureurope%2Fbusiness%2Frunning-business%2Fintellectual-property%2Ftrade-secrets%2Findex_en.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:1-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:1_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:1_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:1_3-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:1_3-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:1_3-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:1_3-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/wipo-guide-to-trade-secrets-and-innovation/en/part-iii-basics-of-trade-secret-protection.html">"WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation - Part III: Basics of trade secret protection"</a>. <i>WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-10</span></span>. <q>In general, trade secrets are confidential information, which is: not generally known among, or accessible to, the persons in the relevant business sector ("secrecy")[,] commercially valuable because it is secret, and subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret, such as the use of confidentiality agreements for business partners.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=WIPO+Guide+to+Trade+Secrets+and+Innovation&rft.atitle=WIPO+Guide+to+Trade+Secrets+and+Innovation+-+Part+III%3A+Basics+of+trade+secret+protection&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wipo.int%2Fweb-publications%2Fwipo-guide-to-trade-secrets-and-innovation%2Fen%2Fpart-iii-basics-of-trade-secret-protection.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:0-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:0_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_4-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/trade-secret-policy">"Trade secrets / regulatory data protection"</a>. <i>www.uspto.gov</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>. <q>All three elements are required; if any element ceases to exist, then the trade secret will also cease to exist. Otherwise there is no limit on the amount of time a trade secret is protected.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.uspto.gov&rft.atitle=Trade+secrets+%2F+regulatory+data+protection&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uspto.gov%2Fip-policy%2Ftrade-secret-policy&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/wipo-guide-to-trade-secrets-and-innovation/en/part-iii-basics-of-trade-secret-protection.html">"WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation - Part III: Basics of trade secret protection"</a>. <i>WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>. <q>In addition, since confidentiality agreements (or clauses) and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are usually effective measures to maintain trade secret information in secrecy, contract law is also relevant to trade secret protection.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=WIPO+Guide+to+Trade+Secrets+and+Innovation&rft.atitle=WIPO+Guide+to+Trade+Secrets+and+Innovation+-+Part+III%3A+Basics+of+trade+secret+protection&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wipo.int%2Fweb-publications%2Fwipo-guide-to-trade-secrets-and-innovation%2Fen%2Fpart-iii-basics-of-trade-secret-protection.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bloomberglaw.com/external/document/XC859CCS000000/trade-secrets-professional-perspective-non-disclosure-agreements">"Trade Secrets, Professional Perspective - Non-Disclosure Agreements and Trade Secrets Protection"</a>. <i>www.bloomberglaw.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.bloomberglaw.com&rft.atitle=Trade+Secrets%2C+Professional+Perspective+-+Non-Disclosure+Agreements+and+Trade+Secrets+Protection&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberglaw.com%2Fexternal%2Fdocument%2FXC859CCS000000%2Ftrade-secrets-professional-perspective-non-disclosure-agreements&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:WIPO_2024-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:WIPO_2024_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:WIPO_2024_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/wipo-guide-to-trade-secrets-and-innovation/en/part-iii-basics-of-trade-secret-protection.html">"WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation - Part III: Basics of trade secret protection"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-08-27</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=WIPO+Guide+to+Trade+Secrets+and+Innovation+-+Part+III%3A+Basics+of+trade+secret+protection&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wipo.int%2Fweb-publications%2Fwipo-guide-to-trade-secrets-and-innovation%2Fen%2Fpart-iii-basics-of-trade-secret-protection.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span> <span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:CC_BY_icon.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/CC_BY_icon.svg/50px-CC_BY_icon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="18" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/CC_BY_icon.svg/75px-CC_BY_icon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/CC_BY_icon.svg/100px-CC_BY_icon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="88" data-file-height="31" /></a></span> Text was copied from this source, which is available under a <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a> |website=WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips_04d_e.htm#7">"Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Section 7: Protection of Undisclosed Information"</a>. <a href="/wiki/World_Trade_Organization" title="World Trade Organization">World Trade Organization</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">25 January</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Agreement+on+Trade-Related+Aspects+of+Intellectual+Property+Rights%2C+Section+7%3A+Protection+of+Undisclosed+Information&rft.pub=World+Trade+Organization&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wto.org%2Fenglish%2Fdocs_e%2Flegal_e%2F27-trips_04d_e.htm%237&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-watson-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-watson_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-watson_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWatson1996" class="citation journal cs1">Watson, Alan (1996). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://journals.tulane.edu/teclf/article/view/1488">"Trade Secrets and Roman Law: The Myth Exploded"</a>. <i>Tulane European and Civil Law Forum</i>. <b>11</b>: 19<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 November</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Tulane+European+and+Civil+Law+Forum&rft.atitle=Trade+Secrets+and+Roman+Law%3A+The+Myth+Exploded&rft.volume=11&rft.pages=19&rft.date=1996&rft.aulast=Watson&rft.aufirst=Alan&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.tulane.edu%2Fteclf%2Farticle%2Fview%2F1488&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:2-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:2_10-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:2_10-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:2_10-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLemley2011" class="citation book cs1">Lemley, Mark A. (2011). "The Surprising Virtues of Treating Trade Secrets as IP Rights". <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1155167"><i>The Law and Theory of Trade Secrecy</i></a>. Edward Elgar Publishing<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 November</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=The+Surprising+Virtues+of+Treating+Trade+Secrets+as+IP+Rights&rft.btitle=The+Law+and+Theory+of+Trade+Secrecy&rft.pub=Edward+Elgar+Publishing&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Lemley&rft.aufirst=Mark+A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fpapers.ssrn.com%2Fsol3%2Fpapers.cfm%3Fabstract_id%3D1155167&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:3-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-:3_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJagerLane" class="citation book cs1">Jager, Melvin F.; Lane, Brad. "§ 2:2. The early English common law". <i>Trade Secrets Law</i>. Vol. 1 (August 2024 Update ed.). Thomson Reuters. <q>The early English cases paint a warped picture of nineteenth-century England. The pressing issue of the day in Britain, at least according to the early trade secret decisions, was the misappropriation of the secret recipes for 'patent' medicines. A secret formula for treating gout was the subject of a legal battle which resulted in what appears to be the first reported trade secret case in England: Newbery v. James.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=%C2%A7+2%3A2.+The+early+English+common+law&rft.btitle=Trade+Secrets+Law&rft.edition=August+2024+Update&rft.pub=Thomson+Reuters&rft.aulast=Jager&rft.aufirst=Melvin+F.&rft.au=Lane%2C+Brad&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://vlex.co.uk/vid/newbery-v-james-and-802700137">"Newbery v James and Others"</a>. <i>vLex</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=vLex&rft.atitle=Newbery+v+James+and+Others&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fvlex.co.uk%2Fvid%2Fnewbery-v-james-and-802700137&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ipwatchdog.com/2022/07/28/artificial-distinction-trade-secrets-confidential-information/id=150443/">"The Artificial Distinction Between Trade Secrets and 'Confidential Information'<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>"</a>. <i>IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law</i>. 2022-07-28<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=IPWatchdog.com+%7C+Patents+%26+Intellectual+Property+Law&rft.atitle=The+Artificial+Distinction+Between+Trade+Secrets+and+%E2%80%98Confidential+Information%E2%80%99&rft.date=2022-07-28&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fipwatchdog.com%2F2022%2F07%2F28%2Fartificial-distinction-trade-secrets-confidential-information%2Fid%3D150443%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite><i>Vickery v. Welch</i></cite>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://case.law/caselaw/?reporter=mass&volume=36&case=0523-01">19 Pick. 523</a>, 523 (Mass. 1837).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJagerLane" class="citation book cs1">Jager, Melvin F.; Lane, Brad. "§ 2:2. The early English common law". <i>Trade Secrets Law</i>. Vol. 1 (August 2024 Update ed.). Thomson Reuters. <q>The next English trade secret owner to litigate his claim was more successful. A now-typical employer/employee problem was presented for solution to the early English Chancellor in Yovatt v. Winyard. The defendant there had been a journeyman in plaintiff's office of veterinary medicine, and surreptitiously copied recipes and instructions for plaintiff's medicines. The court issued an injunction against the defendant's use or disclosure of the recipes because of his 'breach of trust and confidence.'<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span></q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=%C2%A7+2%3A2.+The+early+English+common+law&rft.btitle=Trade+Secrets+Law&rft.edition=August+2024+Update&rft.pub=Thomson+Reuters&rft.aulast=Jager&rft.aufirst=Melvin+F.&rft.au=Lane%2C+Brad&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Yovatt v. Winyard</i>, (1820) 37 Eng. Rep. 425, 426 (Ch.)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:4-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:4_17-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:4_17-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJagerLane" class="citation book cs1">Jager, Melvin F.; Lane, Brad. "§ 2:3. The early U.S. common law". <i>Trade Secrets Law</i>. Vol. 1 (August 2024 Update ed.). Thomson Reuters.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=%C2%A7+2%3A3.+The+early+U.S.+common+law&rft.btitle=Trade+Secrets+Law&rft.edition=August+2024+Update&rft.pub=Thomson+Reuters&rft.aulast=Jager&rft.aufirst=Melvin+F.&rft.au=Lane%2C+Brad&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/98/98mass452.html">"PEABODY vs. NORFOLK, 98 Mass. 452"</a>. <i>masscases.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=masscases.com&rft.atitle=PEABODY+vs.+NORFOLK%2C+98+Mass.+452&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fmasscases.com%2Fcases%2Fsjc%2F98%2F98mass452.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:5-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:5_19-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:5_19-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:5_19-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKlitzke1980" class="citation journal cs1">Klitzke, Ramon A. (1980). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/facpub/39/">"The Uniform Trade Secrets Act"</a>. <i>Marquette Law Review</i>. <b>64</b> (2): 277–307.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Marquette+Law+Review&rft.atitle=The+Uniform+Trade+Secrets+Act&rft.volume=64&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=277-307&rft.date=1980&rft.aulast=Klitzke&rft.aufirst=Ramon+A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fscholarship.law.marquette.edu%2Ffacpub%2F39%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://content.next.westlaw.com/practical-law/document/I2104de7aef0811e28578f7ccc38dcbee/Uniform-Trade-Secrets-Act-UTSA">"Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) | Practical Law"</a>. <i>content.next.westlaw.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-11</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=content.next.westlaw.com&rft.atitle=Uniform+Trade+Secrets+Act+%28UTSA%29+%7C+Practical+Law&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.next.westlaw.com%2Fpractical-law%2Fdocument%2FI2104de7aef0811e28578f7ccc38dcbee%2FUniform-Trade-Secrets-Act-UTSA&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/trade_secret">"trade secret"</a>. <i>LII / Legal Information Institute</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Congressional Research Service<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">November 12,</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=report&rft.btitle=An+Introduction+to+Trade+Secrets+Law+in+the+United+States&rft.pub=Congressional+Research+Service&rft.date=2023-01-27&rft.au=Congressional+Research+Service&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fsgp.fas.org%2Fcrs%2Fsecrecy%2FIF12315.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:7-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:7_23-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:7_23-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:7_23-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2013/03/article_0001.html">"Trade Secrets: the other IP right"</a>. <i>www.wipo.int</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240614034612/https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2013/03/article_0001.html">Archived</a> from the original on 2024-06-14<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-12</span></span>. <q>Trade secret law, like other forms of IP, is governed by national legal systems. However, international standards for protecting secrets (called "undisclosed information") were established as part of the TRIPS Agreement in 1995. Article 39 of the agreement provides that member states shall protect "undisclosed information" against unauthorized use "in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices" (this includes breach of contract, breach of confidence and unfair competition). The information must not be generally known or readily accessible, must have value because it is secret, and must be the subject of "reasonable steps" to keep it secret.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.wipo.int&rft.atitle=Trade+Secrets%3A+the+other+IP+right&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wipo.int%2Fwipo_magazine%2Fen%2F2013%2F03%2Farticle_0001.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips_04d_e.htm">"WTO | intellectual property (TRIPS) - agreement text - standards"</a>. <i>www.wto.org</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-11-12</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.wto.org&rft.atitle=WTO+%7C+intellectual+property+%28TRIPS%29+-+agreement+text+-+standards&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wto.org%2Fenglish%2Fdocs_e%2Flegal_e%2F27-trips_04d_e.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Robert P. Merges, Peter S. Menell, Mark A. Lemley (@006) Intellectual Property in the Technological Age, 3rd ed.; Aspen</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baruch Lev (2001): Intangibles, Management, Measurement and Reporting, with comments by conference participants; Brookings Institution Press, 2001.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPng2017" class="citation journal cs1">Png, I. P. L. (2017-03-01). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00532">"Law and Innovation: Evidence from State Trade Secrets Laws"</a>. <i>The Review of Economics and Statistics</i>. <b>99</b> (1): 167–179. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1162%2FREST_a_00532">10.1162/REST_a_00532</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0034-6535">0034-6535</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:57569370">57569370</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Review+of+Economics+and+Statistics&rft.atitle=Law+and+Innovation%3A+Evidence+from+State+Trade+Secrets+Laws&rft.volume=99&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=167-179&rft.date=2017-03-01&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A57569370%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft.issn=0034-6535&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1162%2FREST_a_00532&rft.aulast=Png&rft.aufirst=I.+P.+L.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1162%2FREST_a_00532&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPng2017" class="citation journal cs1">Png, I. P. L. (2017-09-01). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1287%2Fstsc.2017.0035">"Secrecy and Patents: Theory and Evidence from the Uniform Trade Secrets Act"</a>. <i>Strategy Science</i>. <b>2</b> (3): 176–193. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1287%2Fstsc.2017.0035">10.1287/stsc.2017.0035</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2333-2050">2333-2050</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Strategy+Science&rft.atitle=Secrecy+and+Patents%3A+Theory+and+Evidence+from+the+Uniform+Trade+Secrets+Act&rft.volume=2&rft.issue=3&rft.pages=176-193&rft.date=2017-09-01&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1287%2Fstsc.2017.0035&rft.issn=2333-2050&rft.aulast=Png&rft.aufirst=I.+P.+L.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1287%252Fstsc.2017.0035&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:8-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:8_29-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:8_29-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/tradesecretsiptoolkit.pdf">"Intellectual Property Toolkit - Trade Secrets"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">24 November</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Intellectual+Property+Toolkit+-+Trade+Secrets&rft.pub=United+States+Patent+and+Trademark+Office+%28USPTO%29&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uspto.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fdocuments%2Ftradesecretsiptoolkit.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-auto-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-auto_30-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-auto_30-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBagley_&_Dauchy2018" class="citation book cs1">Bagley & Dauchy (2018). <i>The Entrepreneur's Guide to Law and Strategy</i>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2012-04-19</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+National+Law+Review&rft.atitle=Customer+Lists+as+Trade+Secrets&rft.date=2009-12-30&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.natlawreview.com%2Farticle%2Fcustomer-lists-trade-secrets&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-32">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStafford" class="citation news cs1">Stafford, Leon. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ajc.com/business/coke-hides-its-secret-formula-plain-sight-world-coca-cola-move/VUWZPlcf2Ne4Yp2p9FO2eK/">"Coke hides its secret formula in plain sight in World of Coca-Cola move"</a>. <i>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</i>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1539-7459">1539-7459</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2023-11-11</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Atlanta+Journal-Constitution&rft.atitle=Coke+hides+its+secret+formula+in+plain+sight+in+World+of+Coca-Cola+move&rft.issn=1539-7459&rft.aulast=Stafford&rft.aufirst=Leon&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ajc.com%2Fbusiness%2Fcoke-hides-its-secret-formula-plain-sight-world-coca-cola-move%2FVUWZPlcf2Ne4Yp2p9FO2eK%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>For God, Country & Coca-Cola</i>, by <a href="/wiki/Mark_Pendergrast" title="Mark Pendergrast">Mark Pendergrast</a>, 2nd Ed., Basic Books 2000, p. 456</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWang2023" class="citation journal cs1">Wang, Yanzhi (2023). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~yzwang/research/Wang_2023_RP.pdf">"Trade Secrets Laws and Technology Spillovers"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Research Policy</i>. <b>52</b> (7): 104794. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.respol.2023.104794">10.1016/j.respol.2023.104794</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Research+Policy&rft.atitle=Trade+Secrets+Laws+and+Technology+Spillovers&rft.volume=52&rft.issue=7&rft.pages=104794&rft.date=2023&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.respol.2023.104794&rft.aulast=Wang&rft.aufirst=Yanzhi&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fhomepage.ntu.edu.tw%2F~yzwang%2Fresearch%2FWang_2023_RP.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-35">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ben Fox Rubin (2012): Former Dow Chemical Scientist Gets Five Year in Prison; Wall Street Journal, 13 January 2012</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-36">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/wipo-guide-to-trade-secrets-and-innovation/en/part-v-trade-secrets-in-litigation.html">"WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation - Part V: Trade secrets in litigation"</a>. <i>WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Excel Books India. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-81-7446-609-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-81-7446-609-9"><bdi>978-81-7446-609-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Intellectual+Property+Rights%3A+Text+and+Cases&rft.pub=Excel+Books+India&rft.date=2008&rft.isbn=978-81-7446-609-9&rft.aulast=Radhakrishnan&rft.aufirst=Rajagopalan&rft.au=Balasubramanian%2C+Dr+R.+Radhakrishnan+and+Dr+S.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DnEc8PtMOuzsC%26dq%3DIn%2BCommonwealth%2Bcommon%2Blaw%2Bjurisdictions%252C%2Bconfidentiality%2Band%2Btrade%2Bsecrets%2Bare%2Bregarded%2Bas%2Ban%2Bequitable%2Bright%2Brather%2Bthan%2Ba%2Bproperty%2Bright%26pg%3DPA211&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-38">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Saltman Engineering Co Ltd v. Campbell Engineering Ltd</i>, (1948) 65 P.R.C. 203</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Coco v. A.N. Clark (Engineers) Ltd</i>, (1969) R.P.C. 41 at 47</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-40">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property/trade_secrets.htm">"Trade Secrets (Undisclosed Commercial Information)"</a>. <i>Intellectual Property Department</i>. The Government Of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 April</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=European+Commission&rft.atitle=Trade+secrets&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Fgrowth%2Findustry%2Fintellectual-property%2Ftrade-secrets_en&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-42">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/trade-secret-policy">"Trade Secret Policy"</a>. <i>United States Patent and Trademark Office</i>. Office of Policy and International Affairs<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 1,</span> 2019</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=United+States+Patent+and+Trademark+Office&rft.atitle=Trade+Secret+Policy&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uspto.gov%2Fip-policy%2Ftrade-secret-policy&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-43">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Kewanee Oil Co. v. Bicron Corp.</i>, 416 U.S. 470, 94 S.Ct. 1879, 40 L.Ed.2d 315 (1974)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-44">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGoldman2016" class="citation journal cs1">Goldman, Eric (April 28, 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericgoldman/2016/04/28/the-new-defend-trade-secrets-act-is-the-biggest-ip-development-in-years/">"The New 'Defend Trade Secrets Act' Is The Biggest IP Development In Years"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Forbes_(magazine)" class="mw-redirect" title="Forbes (magazine)">Forbes</a></i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Forbes&rft.atitle=The+New+%27Defend+Trade+Secrets+Act%27+Is+The+Biggest+IP+Development+In+Years&rft.date=2016-04-28&rft.aulast=Goldman&rft.aufirst=Eric&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fericgoldman%2F2016%2F04%2F28%2Fthe-new-defend-trade-secrets-act-is-the-biggest-ip-development-in-years%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-45">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFToren2016" class="citation web cs1">Toren, Peter J. (May 24, 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/05/24/defintion-trade-secret-dtsa/id=69262/">"Definition of a 'Trade Secret' Under the DTSA"</a>. IPWatchdog<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">8 September</span> 2016</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Definition+of+a+%27Trade+Secret%27+Under+the+DTSA&rft.pub=IPWatchdog&rft.date=2016-05-24&rft.aulast=Toren&rft.aufirst=Peter+J.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipwatchdog.com%2F2016%2F05%2F24%2Fdefintion-trade-secret-dtsa%2Fid%3D69262%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-46">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKelton2016" class="citation web cs1">Kelton, Jeff (June 24, 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/news/2016/06/protections_of_then.html">"Protections of the Newly Enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act"</a>. American Bar Association<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">8 September</span> 2016</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Protections+of+the+Newly+Enacted+Defend+Trade+Secrets+Act&rft.pub=American+Bar+Association&rft.date=2016-06-24&rft.aulast=Kelton&rft.aufirst=Jeff&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanbar.org%2Fgroups%2Fbusiness_law%2Fnews%2F2016%2F06%2Fprotections_of_then.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-47">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The "inevitable disclosure" doctrine allows an employee's new employment to be enjoined if the court determines that the nature of his new duties will inevitably lead to a disclosure or improper use of trade secrets of the prior employer. It has been accepted in a number of states (see, e.g., PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, 54 F.3d 1262 (7th Cir. 1995)(applying Illinois law), and flatly rejected in others (see, e.g., Schlage Lock Co. v. Whyte, 101 Cal. App. 4th 1443 (2002) (applying California law).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">A Court may grant an injunction, provided the order does not "prevent a person from entering into an employment relationship, and that conditions placed on such employment shall be based on evidence of threatened misappropriation and not merely on the information that the person knows...." 18 U.S.C. §1836(b)(3)(A)(i)(I).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/filing-online/intent-use-itu-forms">"Intent to use (ITU) forms"</a>. <i>www.uspto.gov</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2019-10-20</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.uspto.gov&rft.atitle=Intent+to+use+%28ITU%29+forms&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uspto.gov%2Ftrademarks-application-process%2Ffiling-online%2Fintent-use-itu-forms&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-USPTO-FAQ-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-USPTO-FAQ_50-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-USPTO-FAQ_50-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">United States Patent and Trademark Office, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.uspto.gov/main/faq/index.html">General Questions</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/2100_2165_01.htm#sect2165.01">Considerations Relevant to Best Mode</a> MPEP 2165.01</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-klinkert-6-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-klinkert-6_52-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-klinkert-6_52-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKlinkert2012" class="citation conference cs1">Klinkert, Friedrich (April 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.miplc.de/research/lecture-series/"><i>The Misappropriation of Trade Secrets in Germany and U.S. Discovery Aid</i></a>. <a href="/wiki/Munich_Intellectual_Property_Law_Center" title="Munich Intellectual Property Law Center">MIPLC</a> Lecture Series. p. 6<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">May 6,</span> 2012</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=conference&rft.btitle=The+Misappropriation+of+Trade+Secrets+in+Germany+and+U.S.+Discovery+Aid&rft.pages=7&rft.date=2012-04&rft.aulast=Klinkert&rft.aufirst=Friedrich&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.miplc.de%2Fresearch%2Flecture-series%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-jama-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-jama_54-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDavalKesselheim2024" class="citation journal cs1">Daval, C. Joseph Ross; Kesselheim, Aaron S. (2024-07-22). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2821289">"The Origins of "Confidential Commercial Information" at the FDA"</a>. <i>JAMA</i>. <b>332</b> (7): 533–534. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjama.2024.9639">10.1001/jama.2024.9639</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0098-7484">0098-7484</a>. <a href="/wiki/PMID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="PMID (identifier)">PMID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39037797">39037797</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=JAMA&rft.atitle=The+Origins+of+%22Confidential+Commercial+Information%22+at+the+FDA&rft.volume=332&rft.issue=7&rft.pages=533-534&rft.date=2024-07-22&rft.issn=0098-7484&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F39037797&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1001%2Fjama.2024.9639&rft.aulast=Daval&rft.aufirst=C.+Joseph+Ross&rft.au=Kesselheim%2C+Aaron+S.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fjamanetwork.com%2Fjournals%2Fjama%2Farticle-abstract%2F2821289&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-fitzgerald-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-fitzgerald_55-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-fitzgerald_55-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRandall_Fitzgerald2006" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Randall_Fitzgerald&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Randall Fitzgerald (page does not exist)">Randall Fitzgerald</a> (2006). <i><a href="/wiki/The_Hundred_Year_Lie" title="The Hundred Year Lie">The Hundred Year Lie</a></i>. <a href="/wiki/Dutton_Penguin" class="mw-redirect" title="Dutton Penguin">Dutton</a>, 2006. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/hundredyearlieho00fitz/page/24">24</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-525-94951-8" title="Special:BookSources/0-525-94951-8"><bdi>0-525-94951-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Hundred+Year+Lie&rft.pages=24&rft.pub=Dutton%2C+2006&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=0-525-94951-8&rft.au=Randall+Fitzgerald&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-56">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-4th-circuit/1558872.html">"Nos. 10-1103, 10-1275. - DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY v. KOLON INDUSTRIES INCORPORATED - US 4th Circuit"</a>. Caselaw.findlaw.com<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2012-01-02</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Nos.+10-1103%2C+10-1275.+-+DU+PONT+DE+NEMOURS+AND+COMPANY+v.+KOLON+INDUSTRIES+INCORPORATED+-+US+4th+Circuit&rft.pub=Caselaw.findlaw.com&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fcaselaw.findlaw.com%2Fus-4th-circuit%2F1558872.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-57">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation pressrelease cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dupont-wins-trade-secret-case-against-kolon-industries-129825528.html">"DuPont Wins Trade Secret Case Against Kolon Industries - WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/"</a> (Press release). Delaware: Prnewswire.com<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2012-01-02</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=DuPont+Wins+Trade+Secret+Case+Against+Kolon+Industries+-+WILMINGTON%2C+Del.%2C+Sept.+14%2C+2011+%2FPRNewswire%2F&rft.place=Delaware&rft.pub=Prnewswire.com&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prnewswire.com%2Fnews-releases%2Fdupont-wins-trade-secret-case-against-kolon-industries-129825528.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-58">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/kolon.htm">"USDOJ: Antitrust Division : E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. v. Kolon Indus., Inc"</a>. Justice.gov. 2010-05-04<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2012-02-12</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=USDOJ%3A+Antitrust+Division+%3A+E.I.+du+Pont+de+Nemours+and+Co.+v.+Kolon+Indus.%2C+Inc&rft.pub=Justice.gov&rft.date=2010-05-04&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.justice.gov%2Fatr%2Fcases%2Fkolon.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-59">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110914/BUSINESS/110914048/-1/NLETTER03/Jury-awards-DuPont--919-million-in-trade-secrets-case-">[1]</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140415151257/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110914/BUSINESS/110914048/-1/NLETTER03/Jury-awards-DuPont--919-million-in-trade-secrets-case-">Archived</a> April 15, 2014, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Eiichiro Kubota: <i>Protection of Trade Secrets in Japan.</i> A.I.P.P.I. (Journal of International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property of Japan) 36(5), 231 - 238 (2011), <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/search?fq=x0:jrnl&q=n2:0385-8863">0385-8863</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usab5705.pdf"><i>Economic Espionage and Trade Secrets</i></a>, U.S. Attorneys' Bulletin (2009).</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1">"Chapter 15: Trade Secrets and Confidential Relations". <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/lawunfairbusine00nimsgoog"><i>The Law of Unfair Business Competition</i></a>. Baker, Voorhis. 1909. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/lawunfairbusine00nimsgoog/page/n489">437</a>. <q>trade secret.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Chapter+15%3A+Trade+Secrets+and+Confidential+Relations&rft.btitle=The+Law+of+Unfair+Business+Competition&rft.pages=437&rft.pub=Baker%2C+Voorhis&rft.date=1909&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Flawunfairbusine00nimsgoog&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=IeArmjaozd4C"><i>Protecting trade secrets under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act</i></a>. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1996. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-56720-016-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-56720-016-4"><bdi>978-1-56720-016-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Protecting+trade+secrets+under+the+Uniform+Trade+Secrets+Act&rft.pub=Greenwood+Publishing+Group&rft.date=1996&rft.isbn=978-1-56720-016-4&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DIeArmjaozd4C&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRockman2004" class="citation book cs1">Rockman, Howard B. (2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=jCEP2MUCIKAC&q=trade+secret&pg=PA436">"25.3: Nature of a Trade Secret"</a>. <i>Intellectual property law for engineers and scientists</i>. Wiley-IEEE. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-471-44998-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-471-44998-0"><bdi>978-0-471-44998-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=25.3%3A+Nature+of+a+Trade+Secret&rft.btitle=Intellectual+property+law+for+engineers+and+scientists&rft.pub=Wiley-IEEE&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=978-0-471-44998-0&rft.aulast=Rockman&rft.aufirst=Howard+B.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DjCEP2MUCIKAC%26q%3Dtrade%2Bsecret%26pg%3DPA436&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBecker2005" class="citation book cs1">Becker, Susan J. (2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=n9T3EIWXTlsC&q=trade+secret&pg=PA290">"Chapter 13: Trade Secrets and Confidential Commercial Information"</a>. <i>Discovery from Current and Former Employees</i>. American Bar Association. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59031-485-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-59031-485-2"><bdi>978-1-59031-485-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Chapter+13%3A+Trade+Secrets+and+Confidential+Commercial+Information&rft.btitle=Discovery+from+Current+and+Former+Employees&rft.pub=American+Bar+Association&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=978-1-59031-485-2&rft.aulast=Becker&rft.aufirst=Susan+J.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3Dn9T3EIWXTlsC%26q%3Dtrade%2Bsecret%26pg%3DPA290&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=e4Qb5EkASmUC&q=trade+secret&pg=PT81"><i>Epstein on intellectual property</i></a>. Aspen Publishers Online. 2004. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7355-0319-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7355-0319-9"><bdi>978-0-7355-0319-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Epstein+on+intellectual+property&rft.pub=Aspen+Publishers+Online&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=978-0-7355-0319-9&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3De4Qb5EkASmUC%26q%3Dtrade%2Bsecret%26pg%3DPT81&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Wz23jImPbrAC&q=trade+secret&pg=PA60">"Trade Secrets"</a>. <i>International guide to privacy</i>. American Bar Association. 2004. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59031-333-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-59031-333-6"><bdi>978-1-59031-333-6</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Trade+Secrets&rft.btitle=International+guide+to+privacy&rft.pub=American+Bar+Association&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=978-1-59031-333-6&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DWz23jImPbrAC%26q%3Dtrade%2Bsecret%26pg%3DPA60&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSniderEllins2006" class="citation book cs1">Snider, Jerome G.; Ellins, Howard A. (2006). "Chapter 8: Trade Secrets and Business Strategy". <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=wChpIz1WedkC"><i>Corporate Privileges and Confidential Information</i></a>. Law Journal Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-58852-087-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-58852-087-6"><bdi>978-1-58852-087-6</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Chapter+8%3A+Trade+Secrets+and+Business+Strategy&rft.btitle=Corporate+Privileges+and+Confidential+Information&rft.pub=Law+Journal+Press&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=978-1-58852-087-6&rft.aulast=Snider&rft.aufirst=Jerome+G.&rft.au=Ellins%2C+Howard+A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DwChpIz1WedkC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDiK7ys0joIC&q=federal+preemption&pg=PA167">"Chapter 7: Misappropriation of Trade Secrets"</a>. <i>Business torts & unfair competition</i>. American Bar Association. 1996. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-57073-294-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-57073-294-2"><bdi>978-1-57073-294-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Chapter+7%3A+Misappropriation+of+Trade+Secrets&rft.btitle=Business+torts+%26+unfair+competition&rft.pub=American+Bar+Association&rft.date=1996&rft.isbn=978-1-57073-294-2&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DZDiK7ys0joIC%26q%3Dfederal%2Bpreemption%26pg%3DPA167&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1">"Chapter 4: Misappropriation of Trade Secrets (Massachusetts focused)". <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mcle.org/books-cds/books-catalog.cfm?product_code=2040302B00"><i>Intellectual Property Practice</i></a>. MCLE, Inc. (chapter by Russell Beck). November 2004. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-57589-291-X" title="Special:BookSources/1-57589-291-X"><bdi>1-57589-291-X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Chapter+4%3A+Misappropriation+of+Trade+Secrets+%28Massachusetts+focused%29&rft.btitle=Intellectual+Property+Practice&rft.pub=MCLE%2C+Inc.+%28chapter+by+Russell+Beck%29&rft.date=2004-11&rft.isbn=1-57589-291-X&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcle.org%2Fbooks-cds%2Fbooks-catalog.cfm%3Fproduct_code%3D2040302B00&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATrade+secret" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Trade_secret&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: External 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