Process 5: Trade Secret vs. Publication Decision

Part of: Feature Development Protocol

Overview

Trigger: Patent confidence <70% OR strategic IP decision required Owner: Legal + CTO + CEO Timeline: Within 7 days of patent analysis

Decision Framework

Publish (Patent or Defensive Publication) IF:

Feature will be externally visible (in API, documentation, benchmarks) Competitors can reverse-engineer within 6-12 months Patent value ≥ $5M OR blocking competitor value ≥ $10M Publishing creates competitive moat (thought leadership) Open-source community benefit (goodwill, recruiting)

Keep as Trade Secret IF:

🔒 Feature is internal optimization (not customer-visible) 🔒 Reverse-engineering would take >3 years 🔒 Competitive advantage from secrecy > patent protection 🔒 Implementation details can be hidden (black-box service) 🔒 Patent enforcement costs > value of protection

Trade Secret Protection Checklist

If Trade Secret Decision:

Add to docs/ip/TRADE_SECRETS_REGISTER.md (restricted access)
Implement access controls (need-to-know basis)
Add confidentiality notices to source code
Update employee/contractor NDAs
Document security measures
Create incident response plan for leaks

Trade Secrets Register Template

Template docs/ip/TRADE_SECRETS_REGISTER.md Entry:

### [Feature Name] - [Feature ID]
**Classification**: Trade Secret
**Date Designated**: [Date]
**Custodian**: [Name]

**Description**: [1-paragraph summary]

**Competitive Advantage**: [Why this is valuable]

**Protection Measures**:
- Source code access: [Restricted to: team X, Y, Z]
- Documentation: [Internal wiki only, password-protected]
- Deployment: [Binary obfuscation enabled]

**Authorized Personnel**: [List of individuals with access]

**Confidentiality Review**: [Quarterly | Annual]

Completion Checklist

Trade secret vs. publication decision documented
Justification recorded (why this path chosen)
If trade secret: TRADE_SECRETS_REGISTER.md updated
If publication: Patent or defensive publication filed
Security measures implemented (if trade secret)
Executive team approval obtained

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