Not every innovation should be patented. Manufacturing know-how, data, models and processes that cannot be seen in the finished product are often better protected as trade secrets, if they are identified, documented and actively kept secret. At Evolve, we help pharma and biotech companies decide what to patent and what to keep secret, and build the processes that make trade secrets defensible.
Patent or trade secret?
A patent gives a strong but time-limited right in exchange for disclosure. A trade secret can last indefinitely, but gives no protection against independent development or reverse engineering. Process patents can be designed around, become obsolete as the process changes and are hard to enforce, because infringement cannot be seen in the finished product (Evolve Insights). Early manufacturing innovation is often better held as a trade secret, while features a competitor could reach independently are usually worth patenting. Most companies need a hybrid strategy (Evolve Insights).
Data, models and platforms
For AI drug discovery and other data-driven companies, datasets, trained models and know-how can be the most valuable assets, and are usually best protected by confidentiality and contract (Evolve Insights). Our understanding of the value of data is also changing quickly (Evolve Insights). Read more about our work on platform technologies.
Making trade secrets defensible
Trade secrets are protected under the Defend Trade Secrets Act in the US, under national laws implementing the Trade Secrets Directive in Europe, and under their own regimes in other major markets. Everywhere, protection depends on identifying the secret and taking reasonable steps to keep it. We help you build trade secret registers, access controls and know-how disclosure processes, and the employee, supplier and collaboration agreements that support them.
Trade secrets in disputes and deals
Trade secret claims now sit alongside patent litigation in pharma and biotech, as the claim brought by Arcturus against AbbVie over Capstan’s LNP technology shows (Evolve Insights). In deals, buyers test whether know-how is documented and really kept secret. We help you manage the risk on both sides of the table.
Fractional IP counsel
Our fractional IP counsel model places a named senior patent attorney inside your team as your head of IP, deciding with your scientists and leadership what to patent and what to keep secret, and keeping the trade secret programme running day to day.
Why fractional IP counsel for trade secrets? A trade secret programme only works if it is part of daily life in the lab and the plant. Our patent directors have managed know-how inside pharma and biotech companies, so they bring the real-world industry experience that you only get working in-house to deciding what to patent and what to keep secret. With our team covering patents, contracts and disputes, and Franklin reviewing publications before they go out, you get more than a traditional IP firm or a consultant with a template policy can offer, delivered with a global strategic approach.
Contact us today to discuss how to protect your know-how.
Evolve AI
Franklin: Invention spotting and publication review
Franklin reads what your scientists are about to publish, and what your competitors already have, so that nothing valuable slips out and nothing confidential does either.
In a pharma or biotech company, inventions tend to be made faster than anyone notices them, and the next abstract or manuscript is often the real filing deadline. Franklin is built for that gap between the lab and the patent department. It prepares:
- Publication review: a draft paper or poster read against your pending cases and earlier disclosures, with new inventions and confidential material flagged
- Invention spotting: new data and internal reports searched for inventions nobody has protected yet, each assessed for novelty, inventive step and support
- Competitive landscaping: a competitor’s papers and filings read together and kept current as their programmes move
The attorney decides what to file, when, and what the paper should say. Related reading: IP strategy for cell therapy FAQs, and how we build invention capture into Fractional IP counsel.
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