What principle about trade secrets is highlighted in United States v. Lange?

What principle about trade secrets is highlighted in United States v. Lange?

• A. Trade secrets must be patented to be protected.
• B. Trade secrets derive independent economic value from not being generally known and not readily ascertainable.
• C. Trade secrets require government registration.
• D. Trade secrets are generally known by the public.

Answer: (B)

Trade secrets are valuable precisely because they are secret. United States v. Lange reinforces that information qualifies as a trade secret only if it derives independent economic value from not being generally known and not readily ascertainable by proper means. In other words, the secrecy itself creates value—the information must be useful in a competitive way because others can’t access it easily. If the information were already public or would be easy to discover, it wouldn’t have that economic value as a trade secret. This principle also aligns with the requirement that trade secrets are protected without patent or government registration, provided they are kept confidential through reasonable measures.

Trade secrets are valuable precisely because they are secret. United States v. Lange reinforces that information qualifies as a trade secret only if it derives independent economic value from not being generally known and not readily ascertainable by proper means. In other words, the secrecy itself creates value—the information must be useful in a competitive way because others can’t access it easily. If the information were already public or would be easy to discover, it wouldn’t have that economic value as a trade secret. This principle also aligns with the requirement that trade secrets are protected without patent or government registration, provided they are kept confidential through reasonable measures.