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ARTICLE · 01 SEPTEMBER 2017

Patents And Secrets In The Chemical Industry

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

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A patent gives a temporary monopoly right for an invention. The trade off? That invention must be publicly disclosed, as well as at a cost to secure and maintain patent protection in each country required.

GlobalIntellectual Property
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
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A patent gives a temporary monopoly right for an invention. The trade off? That invention must be publicly disclosed, as well as at a cost to secure and maintain patent protection in each country required.

A trade secret can be confidential information relating to an invention, with an unlimited length of protection from unauthorised use and at no or little cost to secure and maintain. The trade off? Nothing can be done if a third party independently arrives at the secret.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) defines a trade secret as:

a) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question;

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