A trade secret includes information that is not generally known to the public, maintained in secrecy, and confers economic benefit to the secret’s holder as a result of secrecy.

An attorney can help review internal procedures and document retention practices to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Attorneys can also help protect your confidential information by preparing non-disclosure agreements, non-compete arrangements, and other similar contracts.

Unlike patents, trademarks, and copyrights, trade secrets do not require that the underlying subject matter be disclosed, and the legal protections do not expire over time. For these reason, trade secret can be an appropriate avenue of protection for subject matter that is unlikely to be independently duplicated or reverse engineered. A common example of successful trade secret protection is the Coca-Cola formula, which has been maintained in secrecy much longer than the duration of typical patent protection.