Confidentiality
It is important to be aware of the fact that information about research results, know-how and such must be treated in ways that do not make a commercial application difficult. The most common cases where confidentiality is demanded are:
- Patentable ideas for which a patent application has not yet been submitted. It is not possible to obtain a patent on inventions that are announced, unless the announcement is kept secret among a limited number of people.
- Ideas for which a patent has been filed for, but where the application has not yet been made public. Sometimes there is a first-mover advantage in getting a lead in the market before the invention is published 18 months after priority date.
- Collaborators in research projects.
- Research results where the chosen strategy for protection is a trade secret.
- Confidential information received from others.
There are also other situations that demand confidential treatment of research results, business strategies and such.
In case you wonder if the information you possess is to be treated confidentially, you are encouraged to contact BTO for guidance and preparation of confidentiality agreements adapted for this particular situation.
