Be like Coca Cola ® – Use a Multi-faceted IP Strategy
Coca Cola was originally invented nearly 140 years ago!! Its inventor started his business by carrying a jug of the new drink to be sampled by a local pharmacy, and the rest is history…
The Coca Cola recipe remains a closely guarded Trade Secret, and keeping it a secret requires some carefully-designed internal policies and processes. But there are some benefits to using Trade Secrets, rather than patents, to protect certain things.
The main advantage is that, provided you can keep it a secret, it can last forever, whereas patents only last 20 years – after that, anyone is free to use the invention. Patents also come with a price tag.
BUT to use the Trade Secrets provisions to enforce your rights against a competitor, you have to prove that you were treating it as a Trade Secret within the business, and that the competitor has made unauthorised use of whatever the Trade Secret is. If they came up with (say) the recipe/formula/algorithm independently, you have no legal recourse, unlike with a patent.
Coca Cola ® has become a household name throughout the world, and the brand as a whole serves as a powerful reminder of how a multi-faceted IP strategy, combining Trade Secrets with registered and unregistered IP rights, such as trade marks, copyright and design rights, can create and sustain a brand that has been globally-recognizable on sight for over 100 years.