John M. Garvey, Andrew S. Baluch
BioPharm International

The intellectual property (IP) of a company is often its core asset. Acquiring, protecting, and enforcing IP involves decisions at the highest levels of the company, and IP commands a significant portion of the company's resources. For most life sciences companies, patents are usually considered to be the principle IP asset. In practice, however, these companies usually have extensive know-how, most often kept as trade secrets. If a direct comparison could be made, a typical life-sciences company probably keeps more than two-thirds of its proprietary information in the form of trade secrets. In early stage companies, particularly in relatively new technology areas such as nanotechnology, the proportion of trade secrets to patents is much higher.

This article reviews the complementary nature of patents and trade secrets, and explains how to preserve core trade secrets while acquiring enforceable patent rights. General concepts are first introduced, and specific examples of business situations are explored.