Trade Secret Protection

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Trade secrets are by definition not disclosed to the world at large. Instead, owners of trade secrets seek to protect trade secret information from competitors by instituting special procedures for handling it, as well as technological and legal security measures.[2] Legal protections include non-disclosure agreements (NDA) and non-compete clauses. In exchange for an opportunity to be employed by the holder of secrets, an employee may sign an agreement not to reveal his or her prospective employer's proprietary information. An employee may also surrender or assign to his employer the right to his own intellectual work produced during the course (or as a condition) of employment. Violation of the agreement generally carries the possibility of heavy financial penalties. These penalties operate as a disincentive to reveal trade secrets. Though proving a breach of a non-disclosure agreement against a former employee who is legally working for a competitor can be very difficult.[3] A holder of a trade secret may also require similar agreements from other parties he deals with, such as vendors or licensees. A company can protect its confidential information through non-compete and non-disclosure contracts with its employees (within the constraints of employment law, including only restraint that is reasonable in geographic and time scope). The law of protection of confidential information effectively allows a perpetual monopoly in secret information - it does not expire as would a patent. The lack of formal protection, however, means that a third party is not prevented from independently duplicating and using the secret information once it is discovered. Green Chartreuse liqueur protected by confidential information of the ingredients Secret formulae are often protected by restricting the key information to one or two trusted individuals, such as the
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