Anything that gives you a competitive advantage and you would not want a competitor to know
is a trade secret. For a restaurant/bakery that might be a recipe. The bottom line is they remain
a secret and reasonable efforts were made to maintain secrecy. A trade secret is basically any
information that’s unique and valuable to your business but is not known to people outside
your business.


“‘trade secret’ means information which meets all of the following requirements:

1. “it is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and
   assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons
   within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question;
2. “it has commercial value because it is secret;
3. “it has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person
   lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret.”

When many of think of trade secrets, we think it refers to just secrets, big corporations have,
like the secret formula for coca cola. But the reality is that small businesses also have trade
secrets, information that if stolen can cause big problems.


Best trade secret practices include:
(a) making confidentiality agreements mandatory for employees and third-party partners and
vendors
(b) licensing terms for software with strict confidentiality clauses can assist in maintaining trade
secret protection
(c) educating company staff on a continuing basis as to your sensitive data policies


Examples of trade secrets include: algorithms, formulas, ingredients, recipes, company
procedures, internal financials.

A trade secret is protected if it remains a secret therefore reasonable effort to maintain secrecy
is required. Trade secret protection is often overlooked but is a very useful way to keep your
most valuable information safe ad away from competitors. Trade secret protection can cover
any sort of secret information that you have created or compiled that is important to your
business.


Tips for businesses wishing on protecting trade secrets
(a) Identify what needs protection
(b) Label documents that contain protected information
(c) Monitor where information is stored
(d) Secure computers
(e) Maintain secrecy with outside vendors
(f) Provide adequate security
(g) Set up employee training policies

Like other IP rights, trade secrets are subject to the national laws of the country in which they
are protected. Unlike patents and trademarks, there are no formal requirements to register
trade secrets with an official authority, but most countries have laws that deal with the
misappropriation or unauthorized acquisition of trade secrets.