Full blog here: http://adam-cochran.com/intellectual-property-and-cake/ Join business management consultant Adam Cochran (of www.adam-cochran.com) as he explores the concepts behind intellectual property by comparing patents and trade secrets in an easy comparison. This presentation should serve as a guide to startups and businesses to help better their approach to internal discussions in deciding if they need to apply for a patent. *Disclaimer: Adam Cochran is not an attorney. This is not legal advice. Always consult an attorney when dealing with intellectual property.

1. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
Understanding Intellectual Property for Startups
IP AND CAKE

2. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com | Adam Cochran – Business Management Consultant | adamscottcochran@gmail.com |
• Patents: Government authorized license granting creator exclusive rights over
invention for a period of time
• Trade Secret: Method of creation unique to a company, protected by legal contracts
and secrecy
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Patent or Trade-Secret?

3. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com | Adam Cochran – Business Management Consultant | adamscottcochran@gmail.com |
• Trade Secret: You baked a cake using traditional ingredients (eggs, milk, flour) and
traditional methods (mixing, oven, etc) but had the perfect recipe or applications of
those methods
• Patent: You baked a cake using an ingredient or process which you invented. It hasn’t
been used before and is not just a mixture of existing ingredients or methods.
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Which Do I Want?

4. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com | Adam Cochran – Business Management Consultant | adamscottcochran@gmail.com |
Patents require you to publically disclose your
recipe and process and only protect your exclusive
rights to them for up to 10 years, after which they
are publically available.
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Warning #1

5. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com | Adam Cochran – Business Management Consultant | adamscottcochran@gmail.com |
Patents are country specific. Even if you patent in
your home country someone else can patent it in
another market.
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Warning #2

6. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com | Adam Cochran – Business Management Consultant | adamscottcochran@gmail.com |
In most countries you can not get a patent after the
product has been made available to the public.
Always deal with patents before issuing public
documents, samples, or sales.
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Warning #3

7. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com | Adam Cochran – Business Management Consultant | adamscottcochran@gmail.com |
For more visit:
www.adam-cochran.com/intellectual-property-and-cake/
7
Check Out the
Presentation

8. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com | Adam Cochran – Business Management Consultant | adamscottcochran@gmail.com |
I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. This
presentation is to help understand the difference
between two English terms as they relate to
business. Always consult with an attorney when
dealing with intellectual property.
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Disclaimer:

9. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com | Adam Cochran – Business Management Consultant | adamscottcochran@gmail.com |
9
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10. Adam Cochran
www.adam-cochran.com
www.adam-cochran.com
Business Management Consulting
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