Trade Secrets - The New Risks to Trade Secrets Posted by Computerization

Business enterprises have always relied on intellectual property to further economic goals.1 Well-known trademarks have been critical to the success of many consumer product companies that have spent years inculcating the public with an association between their products and a specific trademark.2 Entire industries, such as publishing, music, and software, rely on intellectual property rights afforde by copyright law3 to protect their investments. Patents4 provide protection for much of the research and development activities conducted by commercial enterprises. Trade secret law5 is utilized both as an alternative to patent protection and to protect commercial information that is outside the scope of patent protection.