How to choose between patent protection and trade secret protection?

For scientific research achievements, enterprises should choose patent protection or trade secret protection according to different situations. Then, how do enterprises choose the legal protection method of scientific research results? Next, Bajie Intellectual Property takes you to know the relevant knowledge. Patent protection and trade secret protection 1, the difficulty of reverse engineering. Reverse engineering refers to the anatomical analysis of products to obtain their structure, composition and manufacturing methods or technologies. The technology obtained through reverse engineering is legal. For the scientific research achievements of enterprises, if it is impossible or difficult for other enterprises to obtain the technology through reverse engineering, enterprises should choose trade secret protection; Enterprises should choose patent protection for scientific research achievements that other enterprises can easily obtain through reverse engineering. 2, the duration of the value of scientific research results. With the rapid development of modern science and technology, sometimes technology is eliminated in less than half a year. Therefore, enterprises should evaluate the value of their scientific research achievements. If the term of scientific research achievements does not exceed the period of patent law protection, then enterprises can choose patent protection. The scientific research achievements of enterprises, such as formulas, will bring long-term economic benefits to enterprises, so enterprises can choose trade secret protection because trade secret protection is not limited by time. 3. The possibility of obtaining a patent is high or low. China's patent law stipulates three strict requirements for granting patents, namely novelty, creativity and practicality. Enterprises usually have some technological improvements or innovations, but they do not have the conditions to apply for patents. If an enterprise applies for a patent for these improvements or innovations, but the result is not granted a patent, then the technological improvement or innovation becomes a well-known technology, and any enterprise can use it at will. 4. Degree of economic value. Because patent protection requires enterprises to pay a certain patent fee to the patent department, from the perspective of enterprise interests, it is not necessary to choose patent protection for scientific research achievements with low economic value, but to choose trade secret protection; For those products or technologies with high economic value and great market demand, patent protection should be applied. After comprehensively considering the above four factors, enterprises should choose the most appropriate legal protection method for their own scientific research achievements. The vast majority of enterprises will not hesitate to apply for patent protection for scientific research results after obtaining them. It seems that once the scientific research results are patented, it will be settled. In fact, this is a one-sided understanding of patent protection. There are also serious defects in patent protection. Some enterprises have lost their competitiveness and even closed down because they chose the wrong patent protection method for scientific research results.