Proprietary technology, also known as technical secrets, refers to the technology that is not known to the public, can bring economic benefits to the obligee, is practical and kept secret by the obligee. Public technology is known to the public and is not protected by law.
Patented technology and proprietary technology are the intangible property of their owners and are protected by law. However, technical secrets are different from patented technologies. The secret of technology is based on confidentiality, and once it is leaked, it loses its value, while patented technology is exchanged for exclusive rights for a certain period at the expense of disclosing its technical content. Therefore, the protection of technical secrets is different from patented technology. The protection of patented technology is mainly based on the patent law, while the protection of technical secrets is mainly based on the anti-unfair competition law. Whether a technology without a patent belongs to a technical secret or not, the only important criterion is whether the technology owner has taken corresponding security measures. If the technology owner takes corresponding effective security measures for a technology that has not been patented, then this technology is proprietary technology or technical secret.
Their main differences are:
(1) patents belong to industrial property rights and are protected by patent law; Proprietary technology does not belong to industrial property rights.
(2) The patent is an advanced technology with high novelty and creativity after examination and approval; However, proprietary technology has only potential economic value.
(3) The contents of the patent are public; The content of proprietary technology is confidential.
(4) The patent content is completely reflected by the patent document, and the licensor generally does not undertake the obligation of technology transfer when licensing the patent.
(5) The validity of a patent is limited by time and region; Proprietary technology has no such restrictions.