![]() ![]() What does it mean to be "secret?"Īccording to the dictionary, a secret is "something kept hidden or unexplained." Turning to the legal definition, "secret" means "not generally known to or reasonably ascertainable by others." At the federal level, it is defined under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), but each of the 50 states promulgates its own definition. The precise definition of "trade secret" varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Beyond recipes and algorithms, they can be a company's profitability, cost, and revenue information, and of course future product development and business plans. Search engine ranking algorithms are also widely-recognized trade secrets. Two popular examples are the formula for Coca-Cola and the recipe for KFC's original fried chicken. Anything that took time and effort to develop even compilations of public data can be a trade secret if it provides value to the owner because it is a secret. They can range from complicated source code to something as simple as a customer list. Trade secrets can be just about anything: formulas, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, commercial methods, and more. What is a trade secret?Ī trade secret is information that (1) derives independent economic value from not being generally known to or readily ascertainable by proper means by others and (2) has been subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy. Here are answers to five commonly asked questions about trade secrets. intellectual property, the estimated cost of trade secret theft ranged from $180 billion to $540 billion. Theft of trade secrets happens often according to a recent report on the theft of U.S. Almost every business, no matter its size or industry, has information that could be a trade secret. ![]()
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