Trade secret

From Patentbarquestions

724 Trade Secret, Proprietary, and Protective Order Materials

[...]

That wherever possible, trade secret law and patent laws should be administered in such manner that the former will not deter an inventor from seeking the benefit of the latter,

because, the public is most benefited by the early disclosure of the invention in consideration of the patent grant. If a patent applicant is unwilling to pursue his right

to a patent at the risk of certain loss of trade secret protection, the two systems will conflict, the public will be deprived of knowledge of the invention in many cases,

and inventors will be reluctant to bring unsettled legal questions of significant current interest . . . for resolution.