Proprietary refers to property: things that are owned by individuals or businesses. People talk about proprietary drugs, proprietary software, and other things that can only be made and sold by those who discovered or created them. A proprietary claim is usually protected by trademark or copyright.

A proprietary concern is only business name in which the proprietor of the business carries on the business. A suit by or against a proprietary concern is by or against the proprietor of business’ – quoted with approval in Raghu Laksminarayan v.

Trade secrets are a type of confidential information. Confidential information is generally defined specifically as a ‘trade secret’ if: The information is not known or available to the public and is used by the company directly for business. The information provides the company with an economic advantage.

Intellectual property is protected by law. These are trademarks, copyrights, and patents. Proprietary information is secret info that a business uses to gain an edge, but it’s not protected by law. It’s protected by secrecy instead, enforced by non-disclosure agreements that is part of an employee’s contract.

There are four types of intellectual property rights (IP): patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

Implement Access System on the “Need to Know Basis.” Limit the access to the proprietary information only to those employees who need it in order to perform their jobs; password-protect employees’ computers and phones; and, if the information is maintained in a hard format, make sure the filing cabinet or the room …

Other examples of information that may be protected by trade secrets include financial information, formulas and recipes and source codes….In general, to qualify as a trade secret, the information must be:

• commercially valuable because it is secret,
• be known only to a limited group of persons, and.

A trade secret can be protected indefinitely as long as the secret is commercially valuable, its value derives from the fact that it is secret, and the owner take reasonable precautions to maintain its secrecy.

Patent protects new and useful invention whereas trade secret protects valuable and secret information. Patent gives the patent holder a right to exclude others from making, selling, using or importing the invention. Whereas the trade secret protects only from the misappropriation.

There are no formal requirements or applications to file in order to obtain a trade secret – it exists if there is confidential information that a company takes reasonable steps to protect from public acquisition.

Significant price difference. The most substantial advantage of a trade secret designation over a patent is cost. Patent applications are legal documents that must include great detail, which is often technical. Patents must be filed with the relevant patent offices, followed by a patent search and examination.