For example, trade secrets can be kept by several parties, as long as it is not known to other persons working in the field.
The information must be secret (i.e., it is not generally known among, or readily accessible, to circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question). In order for information to be protected as trade secret, it shall meet the following criteria. For example, if a specific process of producing Compound X has been protected by a trade secret, someone else can obtain a patent or a utility model on the same invention, if the inventor arrived at that invention independently. Since trade secrets are not made public, unlike patents, they do not provide “defensive” protection, as being prior art. While a final determination of whether trade secret protection is violated or not depends on the circumstances of each individual case, in general, unfair practices in respect of secret information include breach of contract breach of confidence and industrial or commercial espionage.Ī trade secret owner, however, cannot stop others from using the same technical or commercial information, if they acquired or developed such information independently by themselves through their own R&D, reverse engineering or marketing analysis, etc. Depending on the legal system, the legal protection of trade secrets forms part of the general concept of protection against unfair competition or is based on specific provisions or case law on the protection of confidential information.
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