A trade secret may be a formula for a chemical compound, a process of manufacturing, treating or preserving materials, a pattern for a machine or other device, or even a list of customers.
Trade Secret Vs Everyday Secrets
Trade secrets are different from other business secrets, for example, the amount or other terms of a secret bid for a contract or the salary of certain employees, or the security investments made or contemplated, or the date fixed for the announcement of a new policy or for bringing out a new model.
A trade secret is a process or device for continuous use in the operations of the business. Generally trade secrets have to do with the production of goods, for example, a machine or formula for the production of an article. However, a trade secret might be the code for determining discounts, rebates or other concessions in a price list or catalogue, or a list of specialized customers, or a method of bookkeeping or other office management.
Secrecy is Required
Trade secrets must be secret. Anything that is public knowledge or general knowledge in an industry cannot be claimed as a trade secret. Anything that is completely disclosed by the marketed goods cannot be a trade secret, for example, the ingredients are listed so how could the recipe be a trade secret.
Who Can Know a Trade Secret
Obviously, the proprietor of a business can know its trade secrets. So can the employees (who have been instructed not to disclose the secret) involved in its use. Other people can know the trade secret if they are pledged to secrecy.
Others may also know of a trade secret independently, as, for example, when they have discovered the process or formula by independent invention and are keeping it secret.
Nevertheless, a substantial