Patent or trade secret for an algorithm?

If a competitor could detect it in your product, patent. If it runs server-side and cannot be reverse-engineered, a secret may be stronger and cheaper.

What does 'reasonable steps' actually require?

Documented classification, restricted access, contractual obligations and evidence that the measures were applied in practice.

Can model weights be protected as a trade secret?

Typically yes, provided access is controlled and the material is handled as confidential throughout.

Practice areas · TS

Trade Secrets & Know-How

Protection programmes and patent-vs-secret decisions.

Overview

A trade secret is only a right if you can show you treated it as one. We build the documentation, access controls and contractual layer that makes know-how defensible, and we run the patent-versus-secret decision on detectability and commercial lifespan.

What we do

Trade-secret identification and classification
Access control and documentation programmes
Employee, contractor and NDA frameworks
Patent-vs-secret decision analysis
Departing-employee and leak response planning
Alignment with the EU Trade Secrets Directive

Questions

Have a matter to discuss?

Tell us what you are building. We will run a conflict check and arrange an NDA before any confidential disclosure.

Discuss Your Matter All practice areas