A Guide to protect New Zealand Trade secrets

The protection of trade secrets in New Zealand plays a core role in maintaining the competitive advantage of businesses. Proprietary information such as recipes, production processes, new technologies or sensitive market information are valuable intangible assets that need to be strictly protected. By protecting trade secrets, businesses not only strengthen their position in the market, attract investment, but also build a professional and reliable brand image in the eyes of customers and partners. At the same time, the protection of trade secrets also contributes to creating a healthy business environment, encouraging creativity and innovation, and preventing unfair competitive practices. Viet An Law would like to guide customers on how to protect trade secrets in New Zealand through the article below.

A Guide to Understanding the Definition of Trade secrets in New Zealand

Trade secrets are information of exclusive commercial value, which is not made public. They can include formulas, manufacturing processes, data, methods, and even unique manufacturing processes that cannot be patented.

Good examples of trade secrets are Google’s search algorithm, Coca-Cola formula, and The New York Times’ method of compiling bestseller lists.

A Guide to Understanding the Difference Between Patents and Trade Secrets in New Zealand

Patents are a form of legal protection for new inventions. In New Zealand, a patent is registered at the Office of Intellectual Property and grants the inventor the exclusive right to manufacture and trade the invention for a certain period of time, usually 20 years. After this time, the invention became public property, which anyone could use.

To obtain a patent, the inventor must disclose details about how the invention works. This means that you can’t keep your invention completely secret if you want to be protected by a patent.

However, not all inventions are eligible for patents. Formulas, software, methods, and merely information are not usually protected by patents.

In these cases, trade secrets are an option. By keeping important information private, you can protect your intellectual property rights without having to make technical details public. For example, the Coca-Cola formula has been protected as a trade secret for more than a century.

In conclusion, patents and trade secrets are two different instruments of intellectual property protection, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right form of protection depends on the characteristics of your invention and your business goals.

A Guide to Understanding Acts of Infringement of Trade Secret Protection in New Zealand

Disclosure of confidential information

• Intentional: Former employees or business partners disclose information to competitors.
• Unintentional: Employees unknowingly reveal information in informal conversations or via email.
• Due to negligence: Businesses do not secure information well, leading to intrusion and theft by outsiders.

Unauthorized use of confidential information

• Copying: Copying another business’s recipe, design, or manufacturing process for commercial use.
• Extensive: Use confidential information to develop a competitive product or service.

Unfair competition

• Gathering information illegally: Using methods such as economic espionage, bribery to collect confidential information.
• Reputational damage: Spreading false information about a competitor’s product or service.

Breach of contract

• Breach of confidentiality: Violation of confidentiality provisions in employment contracts, cooperative contracts, or other agreements.

Guide to how to protect trade secrets in New Zealand

Unlike patents, trade secrets in New Zealand do not have a formal form of registration. Therefore, the most effective way to protect this proprietary information is:

• Minimize sharing: Only share information with people who really need to know and have a responsibility to keep it confidential.
• Entering into a confidentiality contract: Requiring those who have access to trade secrets to sign strict confidentiality agreements, such as NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements), employment contracts, or service contracts. These contracts will clearly stipulate the confidentiality obligations of the parties.

In addition, to enhance security, businesses can take the following measures:

• Establish an access management system: Restrict access to documents containing confidential information through the use of passwords, data encryption, and other access control tools.
• Awareness training: Organize training sessions to raise employee awareness of the importance of information security and related regulations.
• Regularly review and update: Periodically re-evaluate current security measures and update them to match the real-world situation and new threats.
• Trade secret cataloging: Clearly identify what information is a trade secret and classify it according to its importance for appropriate protection.

In conclusion, protecting trade secrets is an ongoing process that requires investment and commitment from the business. By combining the above measures, businesses can minimize the risk of theft of important information and protect their competitive interests.