By Tavonga Chirikure, Intern.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization trade secrets are intellectual property (IP) rights on confidential information which may be sold or licensed.

Trade Secrets

Qualities of a trade secret

• commercially valuable because it is secret
• original
• known only to a limited group of persons,
• subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret, including the use of confidentiality agreements for business partners and employees.

The violation of the trade secret protection consists of:

The unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of such secret information in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices by others.

Types of trade secrets (this information has been obtained from findlaw.com)

1. Proprietary process
2. Instrument
3. Pattern
4. Design
5. Formula
6. Recipe
7. Method
8. Practice

Purpose of the trade secret

“They protect confidential business information that generally provides a competitive edge to its owner.” (dbllaw.com)

Advantages of trade secrets

• No registration costs
• Protection not limited in time
• No disclosure required

Disadvantages of trade secrets

• Not an effective tool for product inventions
• Limited remedies available
• Not easily enforceable
• Can be patented by others

Trade secrets in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has no formal definition of a trade secret because there is no restriction as to the type of information that can constitute a trade secret.

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