Trade Secrets, Unfair Competition
Research results obtained through R&D constitute not only "inventions" under the Patent Act but also "technical information" under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. A company must decide whether to protect its research results under the Patent Act, in which case the content of the patent application will be open to public scrutiny, or instead to keep the invention as a "trade secret" protected by the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and contracts. We advise our clients on which of these methods of protection should be used, as well as on measures to protect confidentiality. Our firm is very experienced in the warnings, negotiations and litigation relating to leaks of business secrets and managing the risk of leaks.