Open Secrets
THE LAW AND THEORY OF TRADE SECRECY: A HANDBOOK OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH, Rochelle C. Dreyfuss, Katherine J. Strandburg, eds., Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010
18 Pages Posted: 16 Aug 2009 Last revised: 25 May 2014
Date Written: August 14, 2009
Abstract
The law of trade secrets is often conceptualized in bilateral terms, as creating and enforcing rights between trade secret owners, on the one hand, and misappropriators on the other hand. This paper, a chapter in a forthcoming collection on the law of trade secrets, argues that trade secrets and the law that guards them can serve structural and insitutional roles as well. Somewhat surprisingly, given the law’s focus on secrecy, among the institutional products of trade secrets law are commons, or managed openness: environments designed to facilitate the structured sharing of information. The paper illustrates with examples drawn from existing literature on cuisine, magic, and Internet search.
Keywords: intellectual property, trade secrets, commons
JEL Classification: K11, L22, O31, O34
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation