Managing Trade Secrets to Enhance Enterprise Value *

Managing Trade Secrets to Enhance Enterprise Value *

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This shift to intangible assets has been profound, but so swift that few have paid sufficient attention to the magnitude of the change. The accounting profession values corporations on their balance sheets, reflecting mostly tangible assets. That works for the old economy. Today’s modern company is built on a foundation of information, so intangible assets are of critical importance and great value.

Trade secrets typically get far less consideration than patents. A large part of the reason trade secrets get much less consideration and discussion deals with the necessity that trade secret remain a secret. Companies don’t talk about things that they don’t want the competition to know. But according to well-documented studies, secrecy is by far the preferred form of protecting competitive advantage. And secrets can be far more valuable than patents, and they are available to protect valuable business information for which a patent could never be obtained.

This panel will discuss the importance of trade secrets and how they can be best utilized to enhance enterprise value. The panel will also discuss how and why trade secrets are believed by many in the industry to be in an ascendancy, while patents, if not directly under attack, have been weakened by a combination of a series of court decisions and the effects of the post-AIA procedures for challenging issued patents.

Materials

Trade Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage

What You Need to Know About Trade Secrets in 2022

Choosing Between Patents and Trade Secrets, A Discussion Worth Revisiting