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Trade Secrets

A trade secret is any piece of information used by a business that isn't known to the general public, including formulas, business plans, designs and procedures. State and federal laws protect trade secrets when other areas of intellectual property law don't offer adequate protection. An example is the formula for Coca-Cola, which remains a secret despite being over 100 years old. This formula cannot be patented because it is considered a recipe, but it can be protected under trade secret laws.

Dangers
Trade secret law does not provide absolute protection. While the law prohibits competitors from stealing business secrets, they may be figured out by using reverse engineering. Secrets discovered via reverse engineering and then made public lose their protection.