Under Indiana law, a trade secret means any confidential information a business uses which provides a company a competitive advantage.

Trade secrets cover manufacturing and industrial secrets as well as service oriented commercial secrets. The unauthorized use of the information by anyone other than the owner is considered a violation of the protection afforded to trade secrets.

Unlike patents, trade secrets are protected even without registration, or any procedural formalities. As such, a trade secret can be protected for any period of time.   To qualify for unlimited protection as a trade secret:

• The information must be generally unknown by parties that might ordinarily deal with the kind of information to be protected.
• It must have commercial value.
• The owner must have taken reasonable measures to protect the information as a secret.

Other intellectual property, patents, copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary information, are protected in a statutorily defined manner.  Protection may extend to images, photographs, symbols, logos, trade names, designs, industrial and business methods and processes used to earn a profit, inventions, literary and musical works, and protected software. The Thompson Law Office is experienced in handling trade secret and other intellectual property transactions and litigation.  Please contact our office today (317) 564-4976 or toll free, (877) 365-1776 if you need assistance.