According to the USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office), information earns trade secret status when it carries real economic value because it stays confidential, holds value to others who cannot legitimately access it, and remains protected through reasonable steps taken by the owner to keep it secret. The Coca-Cola Company, WD-40, and KFC all built lasting empires around information they simply chose to guard rather than patent, proving that discipline and confidentiality can be just as valuable as a filing at the patent office. For inventors and entrepreneurs, this is a reminder that your competitive edge sometimes belongs in a patent application, and sometimes it belongs behind a strong nondisclosure agreement and tight internal controls. You can learn more directly from the USPTO Trade Secret IP Toolkit here: https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/tradesecretsiptoolkit.pdf #IntellectualProperty #TradeSecrets #InventorCoach #Entrepreneurship #USPTO

Posted by BrianFried at 2026-09-02 01:20:39 UTC