Do trade secrets need to be registered with a government agency?
No. Unlike patents, trademarks, and copyrights, a trade secret is not registered with any government agency. How long does trade secret protection last? Trade secret protection lasts as long as the information remains a secret. A trade secret has no fixed term and has the potential to last forever. What is necessary to protect a trade secret? A trade secret is protected by keeping it a secret. Once the trade secret is publicly disclosed it is no longer a secret and others who learn or know of the trade secret are free to use it. How is a trade secret infringed? Trade secret infringement is typically referred to as a misappropriation of the trade secret. The Uniform Trade Secret Act provides the following description of misappropriation: acquisition of a trade secret of another by a person who knows or has reason to know that the trade secret was acquired by improper means; or disclosure or use of a trade secret of another without express or implied consent by a person who 1. used impro
