Trade Secrets - The New Risks to Trade Secrets Posted by Computerization

Business enterprises have always relied on intellectual property to further economic goals.¹ Well-known trademarks have been critical to the success of many consumer product companies that have spent years inculcating the public with an association between their products and a specific trademark.² Entire industries, such as publishing, music, and software, rely on intellectual property rights afforde by copyright law³ to protect their investments. Patents⁴ provide protection for much of the research and development activities conducted by commercial enterprises. Trade secret law⁵ is utilized both as an alternative to patent protection and to protect commercial information that is outside the scope of patent protection.