Trade secrets: the âalternative IPâ 10-02-2021 30-10-2017 We spend our lives talking about patents, trademarks, and copyright, but there is something just as important to a company’s identity and competitiveness that can fly under the radar of even the most stringent and secure companies—trade secrets. In this new era of working remotely, using your own equipment for work and even growing international business partnerships, trade secrets are less secure than ever before and companies should be doing far more to make sure that they don’t lose their competitive edge or face legal action, a “Trade secrets are no longer something you can just push over to the side, there is an incentive for lawyers to understand the trade secrets framework and what distinguishes trade secret protection and patents,” Jessica Nall, partner at Baker McKenzie, said in the session moderated by