Trade Secrets: Tools for Innovation and Collaboration

This paper intends to inform policymakers about the contribution of trade secrets to knowledge transfer and collaborative innovation, with emphasis on technological know-how. It also aims to inform policymakers about certain shortcomings in existing frameworks for trade secret protection, which can undermine cross-border collaboration in particular. The first part examines the notion of trade secrets, and explains their relationship to patents, demonstrating how businesses can deploy both approaches to efficiently manage their intellectual assets.The second part of this paper looks more closely at the practical challenges of managing trade secrets in the real economy.Finally, the last section suggests actions at the firm and legislative levels to ensure that confidential business information, a key source of competitive advantage for many firms, can be successfully protected and managed.