The relationship between patent and trade secret

There are basically two types of trade secrets. First, trade secrets may involve inventions or manufacturing methods that do not meet the requirements of patentability, so they can only be protected as trade secrets. This may be a customer list, or it may be a manufacturing method whose invention is not high enough to apply for a patent (although they may be protected as utility models). On the other hand, trade secrets may involve inventions that meet the requirements of patentability and can be protected by patents. In the latter case, SMEs will face a choice: apply for invention patents or keep them as trade secrets.