Trade secrets

Question 1

What is a trade secret?

Answer 1

A trade secret is any information that is deliberately not disclosed

1. Independent economic value
2. Must not be generally known or easily discovered
3. Reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy

Question 2

What is a know-how?

Answer 2

Another term for know-how is expert knowledge. This special knowledge is not known to the great majority of people. Maybe not even to other experts in that field.

Question 3

Overlap between know-how and trade secrets

Answer 3

know-how qualifies as a trade secret when it can be said to have independent economic value

Question 4

Know-how can be tangible and intangible

Answer 4

It is the ability to do something with more skill or efficiency than someone without that knowledge, for example to source materials more cheaply than a competitor or to manufacture more efficiently than a competitor even when both use the same equipment and processes