IP Partner, Peter Nunn, and Managing Associate/Chartered UK and European patent attorney, Conor McLaughlin, have been quoted in an article by IAM on the catalysts driving current interest in trade secrets protection.
In particular, Peter and Conor discuss rapid AI advancements and the challenges of patenting such technology as potential key factors in increasing reliance on trade secrets.
Peter comments, “AI development is happening so fast that it is often questionable whether it is even worth attempting to patent it … the technology may well have moved on again long before patent protection is achieved, and that is a reason for instead relying on trade secret protection”.
Peter also highlights the disclosure required in the patenting process: “By disclosing an element of how your AI programme works, you may give competitors just enough information to produce their own workaround that avoids infringing the patent…”
Whilst noting the challenges presented by AI, Conor comments that “patents and trade secrets are rarely mutually exclusive options and the best IP strategies look to leverage both forms of protection … drafting patent applications and pursuing patent filing or prosecution strategies, in tandem with trade secrets for other elements of the invention, should enhance the overall protection.”
Related Coverage
IAM