tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post6034108995691363685..comments2024-03-28T13:23:33.281+00:00Comments on The IPKat: Whatever the Report Says: Can Trade Secrets Really Be That Important?Verónica Rodríguez Arguijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763207846940036921noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-54026145097863570572012-03-26T17:31:19.787+01:002012-03-26T17:31:19.787+01:00Have you tried getting a patent attorney to discus...<i>Have you tried getting a patent attorney to discuss trade secrets? He will want you to go down the patent route. Difference (in the UK) about £30K between the two routes.</i><br /><br />I <b>am</b> a patent attorney, and, as I've just posted above, not only am I ready to discuss trade secrets, it's usually me who introduces them into the conversation, and sometimes even advice that route to my client.<br /><br />I have absolutely no need whatsoever for an angry client who has spent thousands in getting a patent when non-disclosure would have served him better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-56661426098733494352012-03-26T15:56:09.319+01:002012-03-26T15:56:09.319+01:00Have you tried getting a patent attorney to discus...Have you tried getting a patent attorney to discuss trade secrets? He will want you to go down the patent route. Difference (in the UK) about £30K between the two routes.Tim Crockernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-14197976230982617592012-03-26T14:43:26.785+01:002012-03-26T14:43:26.785+01:00I don't know why the Kat is so surprised: all ...I don't know why the Kat is so surprised: all businesses, from humble tradesmen to the largest multinationals, rely on what they consider to be their "trade secrets", whereas a very large percentage of businesses, by number, if not by turnover, are simply too small to rely on any other form of IP.<br /><br />@Gentoo: you get it wrong. "Trade secrets" are not the same as reputation (which, by definition, is the exact opposite of a secret), nor do I understand what you mean by "tacit knowledge": whose knowledge? "tacit" how? Besides, if the FOSS stands for the free flow of information, I don't see why it should prefer trade secrets over patents. With patents at least there is disclosure.<br /><br />Anonymous@12:57, you are unnecessarily dismissive of IP professionals. At least I, as a patent attorney, always try to remind my clients of the basic three options open to them: patents, secrecy or defensive publication, with the pros and cons of each option. I even openly tell my client when I believe that patenting may not be the best option for him. While this may have cost me some business in the short term, in the long term happier clients are more likely to come back to "overpay" me. It also helps me sleep better.<br /><br />This said, many businesses "rely" on their trade secrets without taking any measures whatsoever to secure them. I don't mean legal measures like NDAs and suchlike, but even some basic data safety measures, or just ensuring that the employees holding confidential information remain loyal or even aware of the importance of preserving this confidential information. I can understand that in the order of priorities of an entrepreneur this may rank quite low, but I've often been surprised by how cavalierly some people handle such "trade secrets". Others are also surprised to discover that their allegedly exclusive know how has actually been in the public domain for a few decades, or can be found all over the Internets...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-49786116013147950972012-03-26T14:42:03.447+01:002012-03-26T14:42:03.447+01:00According to the "Brown Book", Guatemala...According to the "Brown Book", Guatemala enacted "Business Secrets" legislation in 2000 (see page 19, Jan 2009 edition). No personal experience, just something that caught my eye when looking up something else.Almost Emeritusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-47842819411293680722012-03-26T11:44:52.853+01:002012-03-26T11:44:52.853+01:00Very interesting. We have yet to figure out whethe...Very interesting. We have yet to figure out whether trade secrets are even property in law let alone how to identify them in fact.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-12616534697350997462012-03-26T10:25:17.654+01:002012-03-26T10:25:17.654+01:00Non-secret IP (trademarks, patents, etc.) is often...Non-secret IP (trademarks, patents, etc.) is often a company-wide issue but a trade secret may, even in a large company, be known only to a small group of people. At the department level, I for one certainly can't imagine Engineering sharing all they know with Marketing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-50111710925977541872012-03-26T08:26:14.039+01:002012-03-26T08:26:14.039+01:00Every employee signs confidentiality agreements re...Every employee signs confidentiality agreements regarding the handling of "trade secrets". The fact that this form of IP is rarely tracked, tranferred or licensed, does not mean it does not represent significant value. If you take away all IP rights, companies still can use trade secrets and similar know how to gain a competitive advantage. Not surprisingly, this is recognised by businesses yet totally incomprehensible to experts in the particular area of IP law.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-85870039765816013732012-03-25T22:00:20.528+01:002012-03-25T22:00:20.528+01:00It may be stating the obvious, but the fact that l...It may be stating the obvious, but the fact that little is publicly known about trade secrets, is because they are of necessity, secret. I think that attorneys in industrial practice are more likely to encounter trade secrets that those in private practice.<br /><br />When I was an attorney in industrial practice, I was well aware of the existence of trade secrets, but details and records of inventions that were better protected as trade secrets, were kept by the business units which they belonged to. It is a fundamental principle of confidential infomation handling, that sensitive information should only be held on a "need to know" basis. There was no internal "register of trade secrets"! Businesses that do make use of trade secrets are unlikely to be forthcoming as to the extent to which trade secrets are relied on.almost emeritusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-41070374875984219132012-03-25T16:55:41.663+01:002012-03-25T16:55:41.663+01:00Similar evidence of the apparent preference of UK ...Similar evidence of the apparent preference of UK businesses for trade secrets over IPRs can be found in the Hargreaves Review (p.17) quoting research by Hughes and Mina (2010).Nicolas Jondethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07960580299308237003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-56262289939251004252012-03-25T12:57:59.536+01:002012-03-25T12:57:59.536+01:00What may be being missed in your understanding is ...What may be being missed in your understanding is that the majority of businesses believe their knowledge and information held is what gives them a competitive advantage. It is their lists of customers, their knowledge of a marketplace, their connections with resource providers etc etc that when combined together creates a successful business.<br /><br />No business would consider paying for an IP lawyer or anyone else to document all this information and file it in a box marked 'trade secrets'.<br /><br />Knowledge is power, whereas IP attorneys are over-paid theorists generally lacking in commercial acumen with an inability to apply legal knowledge to business practicalities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-24117412777083847462012-03-25T12:36:15.091+01:002012-03-25T12:36:15.091+01:00Let me attempt a precis: despite a large scale stu...Let me attempt a precis: despite a large scale study showing that reputation and tacit knowledge are considered by businesses to be the most important forms of IP for businesses an IP lawyer is concerned that businesses are not spending more money on IP lawyers?Gentoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05063939954837162413noreply@blogger.com