Trade secret
Topic: International Trade Policy, WTO and Intellectual Property · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A trade secret is confidential business information that gives a firm an edge over rivals. Examples are a formula, a manufacturing process or a customer list. It is protected only as long as it stays secret, so in principle it can last forever. It ends once the secret leaks out properly or someone discovers it independently. India has no separate law on trade secrets. Firms protect them through contracts, such as confidentiality clauses, and through courts, which punish breach of confidence (misuse of information given in trust).
Example
A soft-drink company keeps its recipe known to only a few staff, who all sign confidentiality agreements. If an employee leaves and gives the recipe to a rival, the company can sue for breach of contract and breach of confidence. It cannot use a trade-secret statute, because India has none.
Don't confuse with
- Patent: a patent requires full public disclosure of the invention and lasts 20 years from filing. A trade secret is never disclosed and has no fixed end date.
Related concepts
- Copyright
- Trademark
- Industrial design
- Layout-design of integrated circuits
- Geographical indication
- Plant variety protection
- Farmers' rights
- Biopiracy
- Access and benefit sharing