Princeton, New Jersey
Course in development page. 

Trade Secrets Course

This course is under development.  Please let us know if you would like to:

  1. suggest a particular fact or concept that you believe should be included in the course;
  2. work with us to create the course;
  3. teach the course or suggest someone to teach the course; or
  4. be notified when the course is online.

Draft Outline

Trade Secrets defined

Laws protecting trade secrets

Relationships to patents in practice

Practical significance in branded small molecule protection

Practical significance in generic competition 

Practical significance in biologics

Best practices in company management of trade secrets

Trade secret protection in the due diligence process

What is included in a quality audit of a pharmaceutical company's trade secret protection
Trade secret law specifically protects the misappropriation of trade secret information. This means that a wrongful or nefarious act must accompany the acquisition of the information. For example, if someone acting as an imposter steals the trade secret information from its owner, the owner can sue the imposter for misappropriation of trade secrets. However, if the owner voluntarily gives trade secret information to an individual without limitation, there has been no misappropriation and the owner cannot sue. It is also possible that the information may lose its status as a trade secret. This can occur if there has been a lack of reasonable effort to keep the information secret and/or the information is de facto no longer a secret.
Besides the invention itself, other aspects related to the business may be protected as trade secrets. For example, the business plan and computer-aided drawings of the invention (including, but not limited to, its tolerances and critical-sizing aspects) may not be eligible for patent protection but may be protected by trade secrets. However, the invention will eventually be marketed and will no longer be a trade secret. As such, other forms of intellectual property (i.e., trademarks, copyrights, and patents) should be filed so that competitors do not copy the idea without authorization.

Currently Available Resources

We believe the following resources on this topic are applicable and reliable.  However, we do not take responsibility for their content and you should rely upon your legal counselors' advice before acting or deciding not to act with regard to any trade secret matter.  

WIPO Guide to Trade Secrets and Innovation
World Intellectual Property Organization

Trade Secret Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions 
James Pooley; American Bar Association 

Milgrim on T
rade Secrets

Roger G. Milgrim; Matthew Bender Elite Products

The Pharmaceutical Officers Academy also has a custom course "Legal Issues in Due Diligence" available to be taught in person.  

Please contact the Academy Provost to discuss.

First Name
Last Name
E-mail address
Note
Thank you!
Created with