trade secret

trade secret

1. Literally, a particular way of making something that a company keeps secret from competitors. The recipe for our famous rib sauce has been a trade secret for decades.
2. By extension, any secret one keeps about the way one makes or does something. A: "How do you get the colors in your pictures to turn out so brilliantly?" B: "Sorry, trade secret."
See also: secret, trade
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

trade secret

 
1. Lit. a secret way of making or selling a product; a business secret. The exact formula of the soft drink is a trade secret.
2. Fig. any secret method. (Jocular.) A: How do you manage to sell so many of these each month? B: It's a trade secret.
See also: secret, trade
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

a ˌtrade ˈsecret


1 a secret about a particular company’s method of production: The ingredients of Coca-Cola are a trade secret.
2 (humorous) a secret about how you make or do something: ‘Can I have a recipe for this cake?’ ‘No, you can’t. It’s a trade secret.’
See also: secret, trade
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a trade secret
  • make a secret of
  • make a secret of (something)
  • not breathe a word
  • not breathe a word (of something)
  • won't breathe a word
  • the cat is out of the bag
  • in secret
  • mifky-pifky
  • pifky
References in periodicals archive
Breaches of both confidentiality and an employee's fiduciary responsibility to protect an employer's proprietary information/IPs has been a defining factor in the litigation and resolution of trade secret disputes since the 19th century (American Law Institute, 2006; Bodie, 2017).
Legal Challenges in Limiting Trade Secret Disclosures by Employees and VCPs
Countering Trade Secret Misappropriation by Corporate Insiders
Protecting Trade Secrets: Legal Challenges and Liabilities for Organizations
For the umpteenth time, trade secrets come in many shapes and sizes-from computer programs to manufacturing processes to supplier lists and many between-but they all have one thing in common: they are key to your competitive edge.
What Delilah-Competitors Are Actually Looking For
Most states, including Utah, have laws to protect trade secrets through a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.
The security approach to protect information from hackers is similar to the approach to protect trade secrets. But because trade secrets are often taken by departing employees, there are some additional considerations.
What constitutes "reasonable" protection varies by business and depends on the nature of the trade secrets. So there is no single checklist of protections that is applicable in all situations.
Inside job: cybersecurity to protect trade secrets
Trade secret protection broadly encompasses the following
(57) Another major aim of trade secret law consists in maintaining
BACKDOOR MAN: A RADIOGRAPH OF COMPUTER SOURCE CODE THEFT CASES
If you do so, your metalcasting facility may be eligible to recover double damages or attorney fees in trade secret litigation.
Trade secret litigation tends to move relatively quickly.
Trade secret protection
Pardue is the Chair of the Trade Secrets Committee of the Georgia Bar Intellectual property Section.
David L. Pardue, Partner, Owen Gleaton Egan Jones Sweeney, LLP to Speak at The Knowledge Group's Live Webcast