If you run a business in the UK, you may be seeking clarity on the different types of intellectual property and how these differ from trade secrets in your industry. In this article, we will discuss the different types of protection each offer and how they impact your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Intellectual Property is a creation of the mind and is generally an intangible type of property. There are many types of intellectual property, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a non-exhaustive list, and many more creations can be a form of intellectual property. Intellectual property rights<\/a> are the rights you receive when you create these different pieces of work. For example, you typically receive exclusivity rights in relation to your creation for a particular period of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Intellectual property rights can take many forms, and each form is made for specific types of property. IP rights include copyright, trade marks, patents, and design rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trade secrets are recognised as a type of intellectual property in the UK. A trade secret is an intangible process, practice, formula or piece of information that is valuable confidential business information intended to remain confidential. Trade secrets generally would allow another business to obtain a competitive advantage over your business if made public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An example of a trade secret would be a recipe for the most popular cake a bakery sells. The information can take any form but will be not known to the public and will have a commercial benefit because of this.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n In contrast to other intellectual property rights, such as trade marks and patents, trade secrets are not registered with the Intellectual Property Office. The process for protecting a trade secret is an internalized process within businesses, and your business would often use non-disclosure agreements<\/a> or confidentiality agreements<\/a> as protection mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike other forms of intellectual property, trade secrets remain confidential. Indeed, patents, trade marks, design rights and copyright are all publicly available. Patents remain confidential until they are granted, however, trade secrets retain economic value by virtue of their protection and secrecy. Therefore, they provide your business with a competitive edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to qualify as a trade secret, the information must be:<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are Trade Secrets?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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