Trade Secrets, Corporate Espionage and

Trade secrets consist of information not generally known or easily ascertainable that provides the owner with a competitive advantage because the information is secret and the owner has taken steps to keep it secret. Corporate or industrial espionage occurs when one company spies on another to steal its trade secrets or proprietary information. Every business has proprietary or confidential information, some of which may be protected as trade secrets. In an information economy, where ideas and innovation have value, trade secrets are an important form of intellectual property. They constitute the largest class of assets and the most valuable property for most U.S. corporations. Trade secrets may involve technical information, such as details for a new manufacturing process. Secret recipes for a cola, cupcake frosting, ...