Under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“UTSA”), an owner of secret information may protect that information that has actual or potential economic value due, in part, to its secrecy. Secret information may include the formula for Coca Cola, the recipe for KFC or the complex psychological manipulation involved in keeping users clicking their phones. While a trade secret may be disclosed to employees and outside agents, policies must be enforced to ensure that the secrets remain secret.

Among the most common kind of litigated trade secrets are computer technology, programing, methods, and source code, customer lists, proprietary pricing, supplier relationships, and designs/blueprints.

A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things that identifies your goods or services. It’s how customers recognize you in the marketplace and distinguish you from your competitors. A trademark: (1) Identifies the source of your goods or services; (2) provides legal protection for your brand; (3) helps you guard against counterfeiting and fraud.

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