Practice question · Multiple choice
A patent expires and enters the public domain; a trade secret can last forever. Why would a firm ever choose the patent?
Hints
- Ask what happens to each when a competitor independently invents the same thing.
- What does the state receive in exchange for granting a patent?
Show the answer
D. Because a secret protects nothing once independently invented
Why
The patent bargain is disclosure for exclusivity. Coca-Cola’s formula is the case for secrecy; anything reverse-engineerable from the product itself is the case for patenting.
Practise Industrial and Intellectual Property
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More questions on Industrial and Intellectual Property
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