By: Almelin , Snyder, Sapoznikow, McCollum and Weader
Originally published in the Gonzaga Law Review, March 2010

Economists estimate that IP in the U.S. is worth about $5 trillion, which is equivalent to almost half of the U.S. economy. There is little data on the exact value of trade secrets because trade secrets are, by definition, secret. Economists nonetheless estimate that trade secrets are a large and increasing percentage of IP. The theft of trade secrets is also big business, costing companies as much as $300 billion per year.

Despite the economic importance of trade secrets, trade secret law receives less scholarly attention than other major forms of IP, such as patents, copyrights and trademarks. One particularly significant gap in the trade secret literature is the dearth of empirical analysis. This article seeks to fill that void.

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