Before it is a patent, it may be a trade secret [Patent Reviews]

Patents come to mind first when most of us think about intellectual property (IP), but trade secrets are an important part of any company´s IP portfolio. Inventions start out as secrets: later they may become patents. An invention comes from somebody having an idea or discovery. Within that one person???s mind, it is a secret. It becomes a trade secret when used to help the company competitively, and it can last longer than a patent if the information remains valuable and is kept secret.