Choosing Between Trade Secret and Patent Protection: A Primer for Businesses
When deciding whether to apply for patent protection on an innovation or whether to keep the innovation confidential as a company trade secret, there are many considerations that a business must take into account stemming from the different characteristics of each.
May 12, 2022 at 09:50 AM
11 minute read
Intellectual Property
When an employee conceives of a new innovation, a business is often confronted with a difficult decision — whether to apply for patent protection on the innovation or whether to keep the innovation confidential as a company trade secret. There are many considerations that a business must take into account stemming from different characteristics of trade secrets and patents.
|Overview of Patents and Trade Secrets
A patent is a right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing a patented invention. It is generally enforceable up to 20 years after the patent application filing date. Filing for patent protection entails a significant quid pro quo — in exchange for exclusivity over the term of the patent, the patent applicant must make a disclosure of the invention sufficient for a person reading the patent to make and use the invention. Once the 20 years are up, the invention is then dedicated to the public and may be used by anyone.
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Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
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Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
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