Copyright law protects creative expressions of ideas fixed in tangible media. However, copyright law does not protect ideas themselves. In fact, except for information that qualifies as a trade secret (and ignoring patent law, which is a separate issue altogether), United States law does not provide any form of direct protection for ideas. So what, then, can innovators and creative professionals who need protect their secret and highly-valuable information do when a situation arises where their information needs to be disclosed to one or more third parties?

Who Voted for this Story





Comments


Written by ShawnHessinger
5103 days ago

Protecting info critical to your business is an important consideration in an economy where more and more business is information based. I do think you need to balance the need to keep trade secrets with the increasing trend toward making information free as an easier way to spread ideas. Spreading rather than being secretive about information requires a much more sophisticated business model but in the end potentially immensely more profitable if handled correctly.



Written by businessavante
5104 days ago

I was all set to leave a "witty" comment, then I remembered I'm not at liberty to disclose this information! (kidding)

businessavante



Log in to comment or register here.
Subscribe

Share your small business tips with the community!
Share your small business tips with the community!
Share your small business tips with the community!
Share your small business tips with the community!