You have invented something you wish to protect via either trade secret or patent protection. Both avenues of protection have their advantages and disadvantages. Determining which path you wish to follow relies on understanding these advantages and disadvantages.

Patents are often the most powerful source of protection for technological advances. They even protect against innocent infringers, because no proof of copying is required. However, patents last only 20 years, are only available in very specific circumstances, and the applicant must disclose the invention to the public. A well-kept trade secret, on the other hand, could theoretically last forever, but trade secret law does not prevent a competitor from reverse engineering the innovation or from independently discovering the secret.

Patents and trade secrets present opposing choices. Trade secrets derive their legal protection from their inherently secret nature. Patents, by contrast, can only be protected through public disclosure. The patent application process is lengthy and costly. Protection under trade secret is immediate and far less expensive outside the security costs necessary for keeping the information secret.

All of these factors are necessary to consider when determining whether your information should be protected as a patent or as a trade secret.