Patent versus trade secret
A patent trades public disclosure for a limited exclusive right. A trade secret protects confidential information only for as long as it stays secret.
- WIPO describes trade secrets as intellectual property rights on confidential information which may be sold or licensed.1
- To qualify, the information must be commercially valuable because it is secret, known only to a limited group, and protected by reasonable steps to keep it secret.1
- A trade secret owner cannot stop others who obtain the same information independently, for example through their own research or reverse engineering.1
- A patent gives the public access to technical information about the invention and lasts for a limited period, generally 20 years from the filing date of the application.2,3
- WIPO notes it may be advisable for a company to keep some innovations as trade secrets, provided sufficient measures are taken to keep the information confidential.2
Sources
- World Intellectual Property Organization, Trade Secrets (accessed 2026-10-27)
- World Intellectual Property Organization, Frequently Asked Questions: Patents (accessed 2026-10-27)
- World Intellectual Property Organization, Patents (accessed 2026-10-27)