Trade Secrets: A Valuable Tool In Your IP Protection Strategy

Introduction

One of the most important things that a company can do to maintain its value is to take thoughtful steps to protect its intellectual property, its "secret sauce," so to speak, that sets the product or company apart and makes it valuable to consumers and investors. There are four main types of protection for intellectual property: patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. The type of intellectual property protection used depends on a variety of factors, but most importantly on the type of asset that a company is looking to protect. For instance, copyrights apply to original works of authorship such as poetry, films, or books, but can also cover things like computer software or architecture. Trademark protects slogans, logos, and brand names that help users identify the source of goods. Patents and trade secrets, on the other hand, protect an inventor's ideas.