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Now the question is: what constitutes a "trade secret?" Could one take what they do in their current corporate job and turn it into a startup using some of the

Now the question is: what constitutes a "trade secret?" Could one take what they do in their current corporate job and turn it into a startup using some of the (non-patented, general knowledge) techniques you learned on the job, but using different technology? Say, to make a competing product to one that you are currently working on? Obviously the guys at Cuil did this. Are there other precedents?

emmett 18y ago
A trade secret is "a plan, process, tool, mechanism or compound which a company desires to keep confidential as a competitive advantage." By definition, trade secrets are not patented (that would be public exposure). Also by definition, they are not general knowledge (they must be known only to those inside the company). A trade secret from Google might be the exact set of elements and weightings that go into the search algorithm.