IP / 05
Know-how & confidentiality
Confidentiality is a working system. Valuable information needs a clear purpose, suitable access controls and an understandable rule for sharing it.
Identify the information
Separate public knowledge from the specific material the business intends to keep confidential. A useful inventory describes the information, its value, the people with access and its current location.
Connect agreements with practice
Trade-secret protection generally depends on secrecy, commercial value arising from secrecy and reasonable protective steps. An NDA is one possible measure; access management and everyday handling also matter.
Prepare for change
Projects end, people leave and suppliers change. Assign responsibility for access reviews, the return or deletion of materials and the documentation of exceptions. Keep a factual record if an incident occurs.
Check the official source
Official answers about trademarks, inventions, designs and procedures before the Polish Patent Office.
Official guidance on preparing an EU trademark application, defining protection and searching earlier marks.
European Patent Office information about technical inventions and the basic requirements for patent protection.
WIPO's introduction to copyright, patents, trademarks, designs and trade secrets.
Rekel Patent — an intellectual-property information website. Publisher: Vadym Rekel.
Continue reading
Before an NDA: decide what the collaboration needs to protect
A confidentiality agreement works inside a real information flow. Identify the material, purpose, recipients and exit process before choosing wording.
Read the articlePatent or trade secret? Deciding before disclosing R&D results
Separate layers of technology, coordinate academic publication with confidentiality, and compare patents and trade secrets without assuming either guarantees commercial success.
Read the article