---
title: "Trade Secret"
type: Legal Term
source: https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/trade-secret
---

# Trade Secret

A trade secret is any information, including formulas, patterns, compilations, programs, devices, methods, techniques, or processes, that derives independent economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable by others who could obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. Under both the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (adopted in most states) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, the owner must take reasonable measures to maintain the information's secrecy. Unlike patents, trade secret protection has no fixed duration and lasts as long as the information remains secret, but it provides no protection against independent discovery or reverse engineering.

## Related Terms

- patent
- infringement-patent
- novelty

## Related Cases


## Example

The Coca-Cola formula has been protected as a trade secret for over a century because the company has maintained strict confidentiality measures, choosing trade secret protection over a patent that would have expired decades ago.

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Source: [Trade Secret — CaseBriefly](https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/trade-secret)