However, if the owner becomes sloppy about security surrounding the secret, the owner can
lose the trade secret rights. Suppose, for instance, that (perhaps mistakenly) the owner posts the source code on
a web page for a while. Such disclosure of the secret to the public could invalidate any future claim of the owner
to legal protection of the secret.
Patents
A patent protects an inventor??™s intellectual property for a limited period of time. After 20 years, the patented
idea becomes public property, and anyone can use it. During the lifetime of the patent, the patent gives the
owner the right to prevent others from making or using the invention, unless the owner grants permission.
The purpose of seeking a patent, which often costs many thousands of dollars in legal and filing fees, is to gain
protection from competition, so the inventor can bring the invention to market and profit from it. A patent is
a short-term monopoly right granted to reward the genius of the inventor.
To be patentable, an invention must be novel, nonobvious, and useful. Many suitcases today have wheels
on them, so they can be rolled about as well as carried. If someone tried to patent a three-wheeled suitcase, arguing
that only two- and four-wheeled suitcases existed prior to the patent application, the patent would probably be
denied as being obvious.
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