Trade Secret Archives

This image depicts a rusted lock on a gate. This image is relevant because this post talks about the ongoing debate about the Trade Secret law in India. Click on the image to view full post

‘Trade Secret’ Law is Turning Out to be a Well-Kept ‘Secret’

This post was published on August 26, 2014. A recent discussion with a friend made me contemplate the methods companies use to protect a business process. Most companies have processes that help in their smooth daily functioning yielding them their revenue. Since business methods are not patentable in India, there must be a way that these processes can be protected from competitors. Of course there is - Trade Secrets. A business process forms part of a company’s Confidential Information and can be…

August 21, 2019 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets 0Comment 1247Views 1Like

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This image describes a can of Coca Cola. This image is relevant because this post talks about whether or not Coca Cola's trade secret is still a trade secret. Click on the image to view full post.

Is Coke’s Formulation Still a Trade Secret?

This post was first published on February 16, 2011. Coca Cola's secret formulation is the most cited example to elucidate the business value of trade secrets. Coca Cola has been taking stringent measures to protect the secrecy of its formulation and it is believed that the formulation makes it the most popular soft drink in the world. Recent news reports seem to suggest that Coke's formulation is not a trade secret any more. Alleged claims of a weekly public radio…

July 20, 2019 BananaIP Reporter Trade Secrets 0Comment 1830Views 1Like

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The image depicts the cover of the presentation with title of Trade Secret Protection in India by Ms Vintee Mishra

Trade Secret Protection in India- Presentation

May 16, 2019 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents, Trade Secrets 0Comment 1826Views 0Like

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This picture depicts a person keeping a finger on his lips. This image is relevant because this post talks about the secrecy obligations of employees. Click on the image to view full post.

Secrecy Obligations of Employees

First Publication Date: 7th December 2010. Trade Secrets form an important part of intellectual property owned by most knowledge driven companies. Infact, patents and others are just the tip of the intellectual property ice berg of a company, the rest being trade secrets. Most countries including India do not have legislations protecting trade secrets and the law with respect to their protection emanates from court decisions. Agreements have been recognized by Indian courts to be valid measures to protect secrets.…

December 18, 2018 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets 0Comment 2469Views 0Like

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The featured image is a screen grab of the first slide of the presentation titled "Trade Secrets and Information Security". This presentation was delivered by Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala at CISCO, Bangalore

Trade Secret Case Law Jurisprudence in India- 1

First Publication Date: 21st December 2009 Trade Secret in India is not protected under any specific law but Indian Courts from time to time have recognized that confidential business information, such as customer lists, details of suppliers, pricing policies, product launch time-schedules, management marketing, know-how, designs, drawings, model, specifications, surface data, notes, improvements, technical information and so on may qualify as trade secrets. The jurisprudence that has developed in relation to trade secrets and confidential information is by way…

October 27, 2018 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets 0Comment 2930Views 0Like

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Trade Secrets Basics

First Publication Date: 4th February 2008 What is a trade secret? Trade secret is any information that has independent economic value because of not being known to others and for which reasonable measures have been taken to protect it as a secret. A secret is a trade secret only if it has legal sanctity. Terms like 'confidential information', 'proprietary information', 'undisclosed information' and trade secret have the same meaning from legal perspective. What is a reasonable measure? A measure to protect secrecy…

October 15, 2018 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets 0Comment 1064Views 0Like

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Trade Secrets and Information Security – Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala’s presentation at CISCO

The following presentation titled "Trade Secrets and Information Security" was delivered at CISCO, Bangalore by Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, Chief IP Attorney at BananaIP Counsels. The presentation covers the following topics: Trade Secret Reasonable Measures Secret Information NDAs and Confidentiality Clauses Access Controls, etc. Misappropriation Defenses Example case for trade secret misappropriation Social Media and Information Security Recent Cases involving trade secrets and information security ZeniMax v. Oculus Dalmatia v. FoodMatch…

April 5, 2017 BananaIP Reporter Trade Secrets 0Comment 707Views 0Like

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TCS Liable for Trade Secret Misappropriation – Wisconsin Federal Court Grants 940 Million Dollars as Damages

In a recent judgment, a US Federal Court at Wisconsin held TCS liable for trade secret misappropriation along with other counts, and granted damages to the tune of 940 million dollars, the highest in a trade secret case. TCS has stated that it would appeal the decision, and the value of damages is expected to be reduced substantially. In 2014, Epic Systems sued TCS in the Wisconsin Court for trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, unfair trade practice, and unjust…

April 19, 2016 BananaIP Reporter Trade Secrets 0Comment 715Views 0Like

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US-ITC versus Clear

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently passed a decision against an order of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) which sought to block the import of digital data that violated patents. The decision was passed on 10th November this year, in the case of ClearCorrect Operating, LLC, ClearCorrect Pakistan (Private), Ltd., v. International Trade Commission and Align Technology, Inc. Align Technology is a multinational medical device company based out of San Jose, California. Align Technology…

November 18, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents, Trade Secrets 0Comment 735Views 0Like

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Let’s keep that a secret, shall we?

Trade secrets have been in practice since long and are very different from patents. While patents require you to disclose your information in the application process that eventually becomes public, trade secrets allow you to actively keep the information secret. The protection from patents is limited (20 years) and demands a considerable budget to maintain the patent. However, after 20 years the invention is open to public use. Trade secret protection can potentially last longer, as long as you are able…