Trade · 6 pages · 12 min

How a patent differs from a trade secret

A patent is a published exclusive right that expires, while a trade secret is information kept valuable by staying hidden.

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From the opening

A patent gives its owner a right to stop others from practicing a claimed invention for a limited term, and the invention is published. A trade secret is information that gets its value from not being generally known, and it is protected by staying hidden rather than by a published grant. The opening covers patents are published and they expire, secrets are kept off the page, and independent discovery ends a secret.

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Inside

Patents are published and they expire
Secrets are kept off the page
Independent discovery ends a secret
Disclosure and secrecy do not combine
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Patent bargain of disclosure
Trade secret misappropriation

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How a patent differs from a trade secret

From the opening

Inside

Sources

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