The Patent Light

In the U.S., the legal definition of a trade secret varies by state law.  Generally, there are three components required before most courts would treat a given piece of information as a trade secret:

1. The information is not generally known to the public;
2. The information confers some sort of economic benefit to its owner (where this benefit is because of the confidential nature of the trade secret);
3. The information is treated as a “secret” by its owner.

A trade secret can be: a method of doing business; secret formulas; customer lists; or even contract terms.  Perhaps the most important point to remember about trade secrets is that the owner must actually take reasonable steps to ensure that the information will remain a secret.  If everyone in the company knew of the information and no special steps were taken to guard the information, most courts would not confer trade secret status on the information.