Trade secret, a perpetual monopoly asset of the businesses

Abstract

Intellectual Property (IP) is the commercial application of imaginative thought to solving a technical or artistic challenge. It is not the product itself, but the special idea behind it, the way the idea is expressed, and the distinctive way it is named and described. A trade secret (which is a component of IP, and sometimes either equated with, or a subset of „confidential information“) is secret, non-public information concerning the commercial practices or proprietary knowledge of a business, public disclosure of which may sometimes be illegal. Trade secrets (protection) management is seen as one of the most important issues in the strategic management of the business organisations. Under this general framework, it is important for us to understand the level of importance of the trade secrets and their management (as expressed by the activities pertaining to the management of the trade secrets), in Albanian businesses. Many companies in Albania see the trade secrets as important assets, so the conduction of a research with the focus on trade secrets, in some companies of this country, adds value to their management strategies. The aim of this research is to investigate the level of importance of the trade secrets in business organizations in Albania. The methodology used for the research is unfolded with its own dimensions as: specification of the research subjects, tools used for the research, sampling, implementation plan, ethical issues and presentation of the research findings. The research is based on primary and secondary data collection.