Role Of Trade Secrets In Innovation Policy

Many businesses have developed proprietary information that provides a competitive advantage because it is not known to others. As the United States continues its shift to a knowledge- and service-based economy, the strength and competitiveness of domestic firms increasingly depends upon their know-how and intangible assets. Contents of this report: Introduction; Trade Secrets and Innovation Policy; An Overview of Trade Secret Law: Basic Principles; Sources of Law; The Economic Espionage Act; Trade Secrets and Patents: Introduction to the Patent System; Trade Secrets and Patents Compared; Potential Policy Conflicts; The First Inventor Defense; Congressional Issues and Options; Concluding Observations. This is a print on demand publication.

This report provides an overview of the law and policy of trade secrets. It discusses the role of trade secrets in six sections: Trade Secrets and Innovation Policy, An Overview of Trade Secret Law (Basic Principles, and Sources of Law), The Economic Espionage Act, Trade Secrets and Patents (Introduction to the Patent System, Trade Secrets and Patents Compared, and The Prior Commercial User Defense), Congressional Issues and Options, and Concluding Observations.

This timely Handbook marks a major shift in innovation studies, moving the focus of attention from the standard intellectual property regimes of copyright, patent, and trademark, to an exploration of trade secrecy and the laws governing know-how, tacit knowledge, and confidential relationships. The editors introduce the long tradition of trade secrecy protection and its emerging importance as a focus of scholarly inquiry. The book then presents theoretical, doctrinal, and comparative considerations of the foundations of trade secrecy, before moving on to study the impact of trade secrecy regimes on innovation and on other social values. Coverage includes topics such as sharing norms, expressive interests, culture, politics, competition, health, and the environment. This important Handbook offers the first modern exploration of trade secrecy law and will strongly appeal to intellectual property academics, and to students and lawyers practicing in the intellectual property area. Professors in competition law, constitutional law and environmental law will also find much to interest them in this book, as will innovation theorists.

Machine generated contents note: Introduction; 1. Conflict of interests: confidentiality, mobility of employees and innovation policy; 2. Concept of trade secrets; 3. Trade secret, employee's skill and knowledge or public domain information: where to draw the line?; 4. Contractual freedom to regulate use of trade secrets after termination of employment; 5. Remedies

Innovation is a central driver of economic growth in the United States. Workers become more productive when they can make use of improved equipment and processes, and consumers benefit when new goods and services become available or when existing ones become better or cheaper although the transition can be disruptive to established firms and workers as new products and processes supersede old ones. Looking ahead, innovation will continue to be important for economic growth, in part because the supply of workers to the economy is expected to increase at a much slower rate in the future. The federal government influences innovation through two broad channels: spending and tax policies, and the legal and regulatory systems. In this book, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) examines the effects on innovation of existing policies and systems and the possible effects of a variety of proposals for changing those policies and systems. This book also discusses the current status of the research tax credit; the role of trade secrets in innovation policy; and the patent system for specific industries.

This state-of-the-art study argues that reforms to intellectual property (IP) should be based on the ways IP is interacting with new technologies, business models, work patterns and social mores. It identifies emerging IP reform proposals and experiments, indicating first how more rigor and independence can be built into the grant of IP rights so that genuine innovations are recognized. The original contributions illustrate how IP rights can be utilised, through open source licensing systems and private transfers, to disseminate knowledge. Reforms are recommended. The discussion takes in patents, copyright, trade secrets and relational obligations, considering the design of legislative directives, default principles, administrative practices, contractual terms and license specifications. Providing contemporary empirical studies and covering public administration, collective and open approaches, and regulation of private transactions, this comprehensive book will prove a stimulating read for academics and students of law, business and management and development studies. Government policy makers and regulators as well as IP managers and advocates will also find much to provoke thought.

Considering the effort and funding devoted to a company's success, understanding Intellectual Property rights patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and licensing is essential. Establishing appropriate internal policies from the outset can prevent companies from learning a costly and painful lesson in the courtroom. With Intellectual Property in the Food Technology Industry, currently the only book of its kind focusing specifically on the food industry, one will learn what to consider throughout the various creative phases of a product's lifespan from initial research and development initiatives through post-production. Readers will have an understanding of the intellectual property protections afforded to U.S. corporations, methods to pro-actively reduce potential problems, and guidelines for future considerations to reduce legal spending, prevent IP theft, and allow for greater profitability from corporate innovation and inventiveness.

Trade secret protection has long been of critical strategic importance to business interests and globalization of commerce has driven an increasing need to govern the preservation of confidentiality in international business transactions. This book off