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I think relying on trade secrets for many things would actually be an improvement over what we have now. You could still keep your recipe secret, but someone e

I think relying on trade secrets for many things would actually be an improvement over what we have now. You could still keep your recipe secret, but someone else could come up with something similar with no risk.

thayne 1y ago
Not to mention that patents are so (intentionally) difficult to understand that even patented technology is basically trade secrets now anyway. And the useful designs are protected by NDAs.
- jandrese 1y ago
  You can't put a NDA on a Patent. NDAs are basically the modern version of guilds. Imagine a world where absolutely everything about your job is kept under a strict NDA. This is true of startups, but it doesn't scale, especially once you start actually selling product and need to make customers happy to get the sale.
  - thayne 1y ago
    > You can't put a NDA on a Patent. On the patent itself, no. But on design docs, CAD files, source code, circuit diagrams, etc. you can, and it is common practice to require NDAs for anyone who has access to them. And in some cases copyright law is also used to protect them. > Imagine a world where absolutely everything about your job is kept under a strict NDA. This is true of startups, but it doesn't scale, especially once you start actually selling product and need to make customers happy to get the sale. This is already a reality at many companies, including large ones.
  - immibis 1y ago
    It's much easier to spread information now than in the past. NDAs are slow leaks if you don't keep your employees tightly monitored at all times. Or if they play War Thunder.
  - AnthonyMouse 1y ago
    So make NDAs unenforceable.
- f1shy 1y ago
  Where I work it takes months of lawyers, just to understand of one idea we have is an infringement or not. Is a mined field, on purpose.
  - me-vs-cat 1y ago
    > it takes months of lawyers, just to understand if one idea we have is an infringement or not. Even after that work, you don't know if your idea is infringing. All you have is a prediction on whether it will be found infringing if you are ever sued.

thayne 1y ago

Not to mention that patents are so (intentionally) difficult to understand that even patented technology is basically trade secrets now anyway. And the useful designs are protected by NDAs.

jandrese 1y ago
You can't put a NDA on a Patent. NDAs are basically the modern version of guilds. Imagine a world where absolutely everything about your job is kept under a strict NDA. This is true of startups, but it doesn't scale, especially once you start actually selling product and need to make customers happy to get the sale.
- thayne 1y ago
  > You can't put a NDA on a Patent. On the patent itself, no. But on design docs, CAD files, source code, circuit diagrams, etc. you can, and it is common practice to require NDAs for anyone who has access to them. And in some cases copyright law is also used to protect them. > Imagine a world where absolutely everything about your job is kept under a strict NDA. This is true of startups, but it doesn't scale, especially once you start actually selling product and need to make customers happy to get the sale. This is already a reality at many companies, including large ones.
- immibis 1y ago
  It's much easier to spread information now than in the past. NDAs are slow leaks if you don't keep your employees tightly monitored at all times. Or if they play War Thunder.
- AnthonyMouse 1y ago
  So make NDAs unenforceable.
f1shy 1y ago
Where I work it takes months of lawyers, just to understand of one idea we have is an infringement or not. Is a mined field, on purpose.
- me-vs-cat 1y ago
  > it takes months of lawyers, just to understand if one idea we have is an infringement or not. Even after that work, you don't know if your idea is infringing. All you have is a prediction on whether it will be found infringing if you are ever sued.