Trade Secret: Meaning and Definition
What is Trade Secret?
A trade secret is confidential business information — a formula, process, design, customer list, source code, or strategic plan — that derives commercial value from being kept secret and is subject to reasonable protection efforts. Unlike patents, trade secrets are protected indefinitely as long as secrecy is maintained. Common safeguards include NDAs, access controls, code-leak monitoring, employee exit procedures, and litigation under trade-secret statutes when a former insider or competitor misappropriates the information.