Content

• Steps
• Advice

In the United States, the US Constitution allows inventors to patent their scientific and technical inventions. Vietnam also has similar provisions for patent protection in the Intellectual Property Law. When possessing a patent for an invention, an inventor has the right to prevent others from making, using, or buying and selling his invention for a specified period of time. However, what should you do when you have an idea but are not sure that you should patent it? Fortunately, you have many other options to protect your ideas and inventions, one of which is to protect information in the form of a trade secret.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Decide the best way to protect your ideas

1. 

   
   
   Identify the audience in your idea. Not every idea is protected by law, and you should know exactly who you want to protect before deciding on the next step. For example, your idea is to open a donut shop. The idea is not protected by law, although you can keep it a secret from your competitors by not sharing your plans with anyone. On the other hand, what if your idea is a new topping recipe for donuts? That is the kind of idea protected by the law.

2. 

   
   
   Determine how much protection you want the idea to be. Do you have plans to keep your ideas a secret from everyone? Or, for the donut-covered ice cream recipe example, what is your expectation to just keep a secret from your competitors in the marketplace? Do you want your idea to remain a secret forever, or is it enough for a limited time? These are important things to consider in order for you to decide what kind of protection you want to pursue.

3. 

   
   
   Patent registration for your invention. Under patent law in the United States, anyone “who invents or discovers a process, machine, fabrication, compound or any other novel or useful improvement can be granted. license of invention." Single ideas will not be protected in the form of patents: one of the conditions for a patent is the person who requests a complete description and diagram of the process, machinery, etc. expected to be protected.
   • In the United States, if your invention qualifies for protection in the form of a patent, you can apply to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
     • PTO staff (or verifiers) will review your application to determine the novelty and non-opacity of this invention in relation to previous inventions.
     • If the verifier decides that you can patent, you will have the exclusive right to make, use, or sell your invention for 20 years from the date of filing.
     • Then, if you find that anyone is using your protected invention without permission, you can sue the infringement of the invention in federal court.

4. 

   In the United States, you can file for a provisional patent. The form is simple and has a lower cost ($ 260 as of December 2014). Provisional applications are valid for up to 12 months, or until you submit a formal (or non-provisional) application to replace this application. An interim application allows you to "keep" the date of the invention to decide whether you want to apply for a formal patent or not.
   • Finally, if you file a formal application and have any questions regarding the invention date (assuming the verifier suspects that someone made the invention before you), the invention date will be “Contacted” with a provisional application, up to one year prior.
   • After the 12-month period has ended, you cannot continue to reinstate the provisional application. If you decide not to apply for a formal patent, your provisional application will be "canceled" after the 12-month period.

5. 

   Determine whether your ideas qualify for protection as a trade secret. If you decide that your invention does not qualify for patent protection (or you have not filed for a patent for any reason), your idea or invention may still be protected in accordance with the law on trade secrets.
   • In the United States, trade secrets encompass more inventions than patents. Trade secrets can include formulas, models, collections, programs, equipment, methods, techniques, and processes. In Vietnam, you need to check the Intellectual Property Law to learn about the concept of trade secrets and the types of inventions that can be protected in this form.
   • The most famous example of the trade secret is the Coca-Cola Group's beverage recipe. For the past ninety years, Coca-Cola has kept its recipe absolutely secret. This corporation has never patented a patent for the beverage formula, because if you do that, the recipe will become widely known after a few years. Coca-Cola has maintained a competitive edge by keeping its recipe secret.

6. 

   Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the patent protection mechanism. Both types of intellectual property have certain benefits and drawbacks, so make sure you weigh all the information before deciding on your direction. In the United States, the advantages and disadvantages of an invention include:
   • With a patent, you have the right to prevent someone from making, using, or trading your invention for 20 years.
   • Anyone who wants to use your invention at this stage must get your approval, and usually the two parties will sign a license agreement, the user will pay you. The lucrative prospect of a license agreement will attract companies to merge, merge with your company, or buy back a stake or equity from your company.
   • The patent application process usually takes a long time (usually a few years).
   • A lot of people are not patented.
   • The cost of filing a patent is very high, and you will most likely need to pay an attorney with patent expertise to carefully prepare your application, including a detailed description and flow chart. your intelligence.
   • Patent applications must be published 18 months after the filing date, with a few exceptions.
   • Patents expire after 20 years, meaning that from that point on, anyone can make, use, or buy and sell your invention.

7. 

   Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the business secret protection mechanism. When you have weighed the benefits or limitations of patent protection, think about the advantages and disadvantages of trade secrets, including:
   • You do not need to fill in any documents or pay any fees to protect your business secret.
   • The trade secret protection mechanism will immediately take effect and never expire (unless such information is disclosed to the public).
   • In the United States, you can sue an unauthorized user in state court, which is usually a lot faster than the proceeding in federal court.
   • You do not have a monopoly on such confidential information. Under US law, anyone can independently develop ideas or reverse engineer your products, and they are not liable.
   • In the United States, if you decide to patent your invention later, you need to apply within one year of the idea's completion. Therefore, you cannot keep a business secret for more than a year if you plan to patent it.
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Part 2 of 3: Take precautions

1. 

   Limit the number of people who know your secret. If you decide to protect your idea in the form of a trade secret, you need to carefully assess the number of people who already know the secret and consider how many more people will need to know it. The more people know the secret, the more likely it is that one of them will reveal it to someone else. Also, make sure that those who have grasped confidential information (and those you intend to disclose confidentiality to) understand the importance of keeping it private.

2. 

   It is strictly forbidden to make public use of your ideas. If you do decide to patent, allowing the public to use or add to your previous idea may prevent you from patenting. This action can also prevent you from asking your ideas to be protected as a trade secret.

3. 

   Information confidentiality agreements in labor contracts. If your business involves a trade secret, you should ask new employees - who have been exposed to confidential information - to sign a confidentiality agreement as part of an employment contract. A lawyer can assist you with writing the right language.

4. 

   Sign a nondisclosure agreement with business partners. If you need to disclose your business secrets during a negotiation with a partner company, you should first ask these companies to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). . Agreements are the norm in business, and although a partner company may ask for a negotiation of terms, very few will flatly refuse to sign the agreement. The NDA will usually expire after a certain amount of time, so make sure you are comfortable with that. An attorney can also assist in drafting the NDA and helping you negotiate with partner companies.
   • If a partner company refuses to sign the NDA, you should find other ways to protect your trade secrets (for example, a temporary patent application) before disclosing the information. Unfortunately, if you disclose your trade secret without any protection, the partner company may use that information and even patent it.

5. 

   Be sure to carefully keep information about trade secrets. This information includes both hard and soft copies of documents. Carefully keep hard-copy documents and limit the number of copies. Only allow authorized users to access the softcopy documents. advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Exercise your rights to your trade secret

1. 

   Investigate the unauthorized use of a business secret. If you find that a competitor is using your trade secret, gather as much information as you can about the behavior. Going back to the donut icing example, if you know a competitor store is creating a new frosting, you can buy a donut at that store and try to reverse their frosting technique to Determine if they use your recipe.

2. 

   Make sure that your idea qualifies for a trade secret as required by law. If it is determined that a competitor donut shop is creating a paste that matches your ice cream and wants to enforce your trade secret rights, you first need to prove that your frosting I'm really a business secret. Factors considered by US courts include:
   • How much information is known outside of your company.
   • How much information is known by your employees and other business audiences.
   • The measure you use to ensure confidentiality.
   • The value of that information to you and your competitors.
   • The effort or money you spend developing this information.
   • How easy it is to access or copy that information.

3. 

   Prove every element of your right to claim protection of your trade secrets. Once you are sure your information meets the requirements of a trade secret, you should also prove in court that you have taken reasonable precautions to protect it from disclosure, and Your information has been used in an unauthorized manner.
   • Under US law, unauthorized use means that someone has obtained the information in an informal manner or an employee has violated his obligations to keep confidential information. Using the donut example, the competitor shop would be liable for the illegal use of a trade secret, if you can prove that the owner of the store broke into your store. after work and steal recipe documents in a locked document drawer.
   • In the US, illegal use does not apply in some cases
     • When that trade secret is accidentally disclosed (if a donut-coated ice cream recipe falls out of your pocket and your competitor picks it up)
     • If a competitor reverses the technique of the trade secret (if the competitor buys a donut from you and creates a frosting by trying the product)
     • If the competitor makes an independent discovery (if he accidentally finds a donut icing recipe that matches your recipe).

4. 

   Conducting proceedings. Usually, you should talk with a competitor to see if it is possible to informally resolve a conflict before going to court. But if you decide that a trial is necessary for you to exercise your rights to your trade secret, in the United States, you may consider the following points:
   • The 47 states and the District of Columbia (except New York, North Carolina and Massachusetts) apply the Unified Business Secrets Act (UTSA). UTSA is a standard law that clearly sets forth the unauthorized use of a trade secret. That means your request for an unauthorized use of your trade secret will depend less on state law but on the facts of your case.
   • Depending on the circumstances and the state in which you live, you can also make a request for a breach of contract (if assuming one of your employees is in breach of the privacy agreement and donut ice cream recipe for a competitor), unfair competition (if the competitor store advertises that their store is the only place selling donuts with signature ice cream), etc.

5. 

   Consider the risks and benefits of the lawsuit. In the United States, if you prevail in making a request for illegal use, you are a party to a court-issued prohibition of use (preventing the competitor from continuing to use the trade secret. ) and / or a ban on disclosure (preventing the defendant from disclosing business secrets), compensation for monetary damages, as well as legal fees and costs.
   • However, if you are at a disadvantage, the court may ask you to pay the other party's costs and expenses and your own fees.
   • Attorneys' fees to bring an illegal use of a trade secret to court can take years and tens of thousands of dollars or more.
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Advice

• Get advice from a lawyer before taking a lawsuit. Intellectual property laws are complex and constantly changing. A lawyer can help you assess the strengths and weaknesses of a case before you invest too much time or money.
• Remember that you cannot protect an unclear idea in the form of a patent. Patents protect inventions only. If you have an idea but have not yet developed it to the extent that it can be described in detail as an invention in a patent application, you are not ready to defend your idea in patent form.
• In the United States, although you cannot protect your invention in both the form of a patent and a trade secret (because invention protection in the form of an invention must be fully disclosed, it means that the public has the invention can be viewed for free), consider filing for a provisional patent (the type of application is not so detailed as the official patent application) and protect that detailed information as confidentiality. business in the process of deciding to choose how to protect.
• Designs or intellectual property using the same trademarks may be protected in the form of trademarks. In the United States, trademark applications are much cheaper than patents; however, you should hire an attorney to advise you on most trademark registrations. If you find out that someone is using your trademark without authorization, you can sue in federal court.
• Ideas that are composed such as music, books, software, paintings or other types of art are considered copyright protected works. In the United States, unlike patents, copyright objects are protected for a period of 70 years instead of 20 years. If you know someone who is using your copyrighted material without permission, you can sue for copyright infringement in federal court. In Vietnam, according to the Intellectual Property Law, some copyrighted works have a term of protection of fifty years, others are protected for the life of the author and an additional fifty years from the date of The author passed away.