How Should an Invention or Process Be Protected?
Patent or Trade Secret?
- Many factors to consider:
- Whether the invention currently protected by trade secret is patentable
- If it is, the person must review whether a patent provides better IP protection
- What processes and controls can be used to make sure that only a limited number of people know about the invention
- person must make sure that everyone knows that an invention protected as a trade secret must be kept extremely confidential
- How long the person wishes to protect the invention and the type of protection required
What is The Invention?
- Trade secrets can be used to protect almost everything
- Patents are limited to protecting only certain types of inventions or discoveries
- must meet all patentability requirements
- Advantage goes to: Trade secret
- can protect more types of inventions and discoveries
How Must the Invention Be Protected?
- owner of a patent has the exclusive right to use the invention or discovery
- It is a violation of a patent to reverse engineer a product and recreate it
- Only the patent owner can make the patented product
- Under trade secret law, it is not a violation to reverse engineer a product
- means that a person can analyze products to try to determine their secret
- Advantage goes to: Patents
- give greater protection against use than trade secrets
How Long Must the Invention Be Protected?
- patent’s exclusive protection lasts only for the period of the patent
- usually 20 years
- After the patented period is up, anyone may make the underlying product
- Trade secret protection can last forever
- as it is kept confidential
- Advantage goes to: Trade secrets