Regarding difference between trade secret & patent

niceniks

can anyone plz guide what is difference between trade secret & patent?? i am little bit confuse because both are for resource only & copyright is for expression

cyberguypr

Trade secrets are things that give the company a competitive advantage. Think Coca Cola or KFC's recipes. It could also be some proprietary algorithm or a specific process. If they fall in the wrong hands, game over.

Patents are exclusive right granted by the government to an inventor. You provide tons of details on how you made it and in exchange you are guaranteed exclusivity for a period of time. No one else can make (legally) your same product, process, or technology.

Since patents require disclosing details, companies keep trade secrets, well, secret, instead of disclosing how they make the product.

itsgonnahappen

What he ^ said. I'd further add that a patent provides a monopoly to the holder in exchange for making the invention public.

An example of a trade secret is the recipe to KFC chicken. If KFC wanted to patent their process, they would be forced to disclose their recipe. As a result, the business could lose a competitive advantage in the long term.

philz1982

Also, if released to the public domain it is no longer a trade secret. For example if someone posted Coca Cola's recipe to the web. Then it is no longer a trade secret. Although this can be a murky rule based on the country within in the release and consumption happen(ed).

niceniks

thanks all for valuable reply.