Protecting core technology through trade secrets

A trade secret is confidential, commercially valuable information that provides a competitive advantage, and is protected by law from unauthorized disclosure or use. We recently upgraded our trade secret process at Canatu. I found the process very inspiring. For the wrong reasons trade secrets often are the neglected stepchild of the patents. They offer several benefits over patents, and when managed properly, offer tremendous value.

Unlike patents, trade secrets do not have an expiration date but rather can be kept as an asset “forever” like with the famous trade secret example of Coca Cola recipe. In addition, trade secrets will not be published, which is the case with patents and utility models. However, there are a few important rules that need to be implemented when managing trade secrets to make them legit. As stated by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), trade secrets need to be:

• commercially valuable because it is secret,

• be known only to a limited group of persons, and

• be subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret, including the use of confidentiality agreements for business partners and employees.

At Canatu we have 177 number of patents in 35 different families. Patents are an extremely important part of our strategy and value. However, a significant part of our core are trade secrets. These are the most valuable technological gems that either cannot be patented or we do not wish to patent as we do not want to get them into public databases. These trade secrets are stored in secured locations and are shared only with the employees that require the information to execute their tasks. Sharing with external parties is rare and happens only under a special legal framework.

Canatu comprehensive portfolio of trade secrets combined with an effective procedure for their management, benefits our customers, as they can be confident that by relying on our proprietary technology, they can maintain the competitive edge over their competition.

About Canatu
Canatu is a carbon nanomaterial developer. We focus on creating the most advanced carbon nanotubes for industry-transforming products. With over a decade of experience in mass-producing CNTs, Canatu has highly developed expertise in carbon nanotube manufacturing and customizing CNTs for select applications, ensuring consistent quality needed for highly engineered solutions. Canatu CNT offers the required versatility and reliability for transformative impact.

Canatu partners with other forerunner companies, together transforming products for better tomorrows with nano carbon. Today, Canatu is a prominent supplier of CNT products and manufacturing equipment for the semiconductor and automotive industries. In the semiconductor sector, Canatu’s solutions play a key role in advancing the EUV process required for producing the most advanced microchips. Canatu’s product portfolio includes EUV pellicles, debris filters, and optical filters. In the automotive industry, our focus is on film heaters for LiDAR and camera sensor de-icing, enabling autonomous driving in any weather. We continuously explore future applications for our advanced CNT. Currently, we are rapidly advancing our technology for electrochemical sensors. The experts at Canatu think big and create impacts on the tiniest scale – nano solutions for massive impact.  

Canatu’s headquarters are in Finland with sales offices also in the U.S., Japan, and Taiwan. For more information, please visit www.canatu.com and contact the company representatives.