trade secret protection
Intellectual property systems in Saudi Arabia provide the necessary protection for the rights of creators by facilitating protection and registration procedures and educating them about their rights guaranteed under the system. Therefore, many companies are keen to register their innovations and protect trade secrets in order to achieve their commercial goals and maintain their name in the market.
In this article, we review what trade secrets are, their terms, the difference between them and patents, and ways to protect them legally.
trade secret protection
What is a trade secret?
Have you ever heard of “the secret mixture” for Kentucky Fried Chicken? The company that owns the famous Kentucky restaurant chain, the secret chicken mixture, has registered a commercial break protected according to intellectual property regulations.
A trade secret is to protect a product or innovation and not disclose it to the public like the ingredients in a Kentucky mix. Trade secrets aim to keep product information confidential and not disclose it. They are the secret to a company’s success and distinction from others in the market.
What is a trade secret protection system?
Trade secrets are intellectual property rights to confidential information and give the owner the right to sell it or license its use and prevent anyone from using it.
The Regulations for the Protection of Confidential Commercial Information stipulate the necessity of protecting trade secrets, and the competent authorities must protect it from unfair use and not reveal the trade secret to the public unless it is for the purpose of protecting them (such as detecting allergens).
Trade secrets must not violate Islamic law and the regulations in force in Saudi Arabia to obtain the necessary protection.
trade secret protection
What are the three elements of a trade secret?
Any information is considered a trade secret subject to protective measures if it includes the following three elements:
- It has commercial value because it is confidential.
- If the information is unknown or known to a small number of people specializing in the same field.
- The owner of the trade secret takes certain measures to maintain the confidentiality of this information.
How long does it take to protect trade secrets?
There is no specific period for protecting trade secrets, they are protected as long as confidential information is not disclosed. Therefore, the owner of a trade secret must take the necessary measures to protect his secret.
“To protect your creative content, you need legal advice from a competent intellectual property lawyer from the office of lawyer Abdul Majeed Al Rashid “
What is the difference between trade secrets and patents?
The primary goal of protection
The owner of a trade secret aims to protect the product from being revealed to the public and to keep it a mysterious secret that attracts his customers and increases the level of competition between him and other companies.
The aim of the invention is to obtain legal protection and the right to use the invention and prevent others from using it without obtaining the consent of the owner of the invention.
Protection method
Protecting a trade secret is done by not disclosing it and taking the necessary measures to prevent the disclosure of product secrets. While obtaining a patent requires accurate disclosure of product details to protect it from infringement.
Product imitation
The merchant takes strict measures to protect trade secrets. Information about the product is confidential and no one knows about it, making it difficult and unlikely to imitate it. The patent is vulnerable to infringement due to the disclosure of the invention’s method and technical information, making it an easy target for competitors in the same field.
Product protection period
Patent protection extends to 20 years from the date of registration of the invention with the Saudi Intellectual Property Authority. On the other hand, trade secrets are protected if they are kept from disclosure and preventive measures are taken.
Therefore, Coca-Cola preferred to keep its drink mixture and register it as a trade secret rather than register it as a patent to increase the duration of protection and stay on the market for a long time.
Material costs and legal procedures
The cost of protecting a trade secret is materially lower than the costs of patent registration, which requires paying a fee to register the invention and paying litigation costs when a violation occurs.
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Risks to trade secrets
Risks to trade secrets
- The possibility of disclosing a secret by competitors in the same field through legitimate means such as examining and analyzing it. Accordingly, they have the right to use it, because trade secrets only protect the secret from disclosure and do not give the merchant an exclusive right that prevents others from using the product commercially.
- Difficulty proving infringement of a trade secret compared to other intellectual property rights such as a patent.
How to keep a trade secret?
Many companies adopt information protection strategies to protect business secrets and prevent trade secrets from being leaked outside the organization by:
- Try to protect confidential information as much as possible, such as limiting knowledge of the secret to a small number of employees.
- Signing agreements to protect trade secrets, such as concluding a non-disclosure agreement with employees and signing confidentiality contracts to prevent disclosure of confidential information with partners and suppliers.
trade secret protection
You can now easily contact an intellectual property lawyer from the office of Attorney Abdul Majeed Al Rashid and obtain specialized legal advice on patent registration procedures, drafting agreements to protect trade secrets, copyright and copyright protection and registration, and other various legal services.
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