Intellectual Property Laws and Trade Secrets
What do intellectual property laws protect?
Choose the correct answer:
- Formulas only
- Computer source codes only
- Both formulas and computer source codes
Answer:
Intellectual property laws protect both formulas and computer source codes.
Intellectual property is a type of property that incorporates intangible human intelligence creations. There are different categories of intellectual property, with patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets being the most well-known.
Trade secrets, unlike patents, are protected in intellectual property laws without registration. This means that trade secrets do not require any procedural formalities to be protected. A trade secret can remain private indefinitely unless it is discovered or legitimately obtained by others and exposed to the public.
Therefore, it can be concluded that intellectual property laws do protect trade secrets such as formulas and computer source codes.