Page "Trade secret" Paragraph 14

Compared to patents, the advantages of trade secrets are that a trade secret is not limited in time ( it " continues indefinitely as long as the secret is not revealed to the public ", whereas a patent is only in force for a specified time, after which others may freely copy the invention ), a trade secret does not imply any registration costs, has an immediate effect, does not require compliance with any formalities, and does not imply any disclosure of the invention to the public.

The disadvantages of trade secrets include that " others may be able to legally discover the secret and be thereafter entitled to use it ", " others may obtain patent protection for legally discovered secrets ", and a trade secret is more difficult to enforce than a patent.