Trade secrets are an important part of the company. As the name implies, this is a secret formulas, technical information and business models, like a jealous lover Corporation must guard. Otherwise, the corporation loses its edge in the business world and companies cut throat race. Strictly speaking, corporate secrets, intellectual property assets of the corporation. However, this asset is a very important oversight of the usual corporate business secrets, since intangible. Trade secret information. Therefore it is easy to steal.

California is the meaning of a trade secret, including formulas, patterns, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process, that:

(1) Independence to obtain economic value, actual or potential, are not generally known to, or else for the economic value of the public can obtain from the disclosure or use, and

(2) Subject of the efforts to streamline the situation to maintain confidentiality.

The above definition of a trade secret definition of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act adaptation (University of Texas San Antonio schools) was established in 1984. Codified under the same section of the California Civil Code 3426 to 3426.11.

To be considered for information as a trade secret, four elements must be present. The trade secret is, as called for the need to: (1) the information contained in (2) generally is not known, and (3) be treated as a subject of a secret and must use reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality or protection; (4) to derive economic value from the fact that it is treated as confidential.

Trade secret, be regarded as consisting of information, you must either technical information and business information.

In terms of economic value, other companies can only mean that the public companies and competitors time and not necessarily need to spend money to develop information.

Secret of the fact that normal trade must be a self-description is not known. Known if the information is public, and some of the information is not secret. On the condition that the information is usually not known what kind of information is confidential. There is no secret or sensitive information that is already known, or when the public can easily known, and some of the country selected.

Finally, when you said the trade secrets are eligible for the reasonable efforts to maintain the secrecy is that it only means that the possession of trade secrets treated as confidential. Owner owns or confidential information to the expenditure of time and money to keep the information secret.