5 Famous Trade Secrets People Use Everyday

Trade secrets are often overshadowed by copyrights and patents. You hear about someone copyrighting a new movie or patenting the next big gadget. But trade secrets? They tend to fly under the radar—and that’s the point. When something is a secret, others can’t copy or steal it.

As one of the leading intellectual property law firms, Emerson Thomson Bennett often deals with trade secrets and helps people safeguard what makes their business unique. In this post, we are going to talk about a few famous trade secrets that keep well-known brands running smoothly.

While we can’t spill the exact details of these secrets, we can tell you which brands use them. You might be surprised at how often you use products protected by IP trade secrets without realizing it.

Famous Trade Secrets

Copyrights are records of ownership for written and artistic works, trademarks denote ownership of brands, and patents record one’s ownership of an invention. What is a trade secret, though? 

Trade secrets protect possibly the vaguest type of information, which is any confidential information that may be sold or licensed. 

They must be commercially valuable to be worth keeping secret, be known by only a limited group of people, and be hidden from the public through a reasonable amount of effort. Unlike the other three types of intellectual property protection, this could be just about any type of information.

Sometimes, you can have a trade secret that’s also a copyright or patent. That said, you can’t have secrets overlap with trademarks since trademarks are supposed to be public brands. This vague openness to what trade secrets can be means you should expect a diverse array of famous trade secrets today.

1. Google’s Search Algorithm

An algorithm is a set of rules a computer follows to solve problems. Google’s search engine, for example, is driven by an algorithm. That specific formula is an IP trade secret. It’s why Google dominates the internet.

If Google’s algorithm wasn’t a secret, copycats would pop up fast. Many countries don’t strictly enforce IP law, so other businesses would jump at the chance to replicate it. Even with Google’s global legal team and billion-dollar revenue, protecting their algorithm as a trade secret gives them stronger security.

2. Coca-Cola’s Recipe

Who doesn’t love a nice cold bottle of Coke on a warm summer day? 

If it weren’t for the trade secret Coca-Cola has on its recipe, you might be drinking it under a different brand. This recipe is integral to protecting the business’s most successful product. If anyone could have it, why would you get it from Coca-Cola?

The choice to keep it a secret rather than solely as a patent allowed them to keep the ingredients a secret. Even as recently as 2006, having a trade secret kept their biggest competitor honest. An employee and several accomplices stole the Coca-Cola recipe and tried to sell it to Pepsi.

The trade secret made it illegal for Pepsi to buy the formula and reproduce it for themselves, so they reported the thieves instead. If the recipe weren’t an official secret, Pepsi may have gotten the Coca-Cola formula.

3. New York Times Bestseller List

Ever wondered what makes a book a “New York Times Bestseller”? You’re not alone. The method behind it—whether it’s an algorithm, a strategy, or something else—is a trade secret. No one outside the company knows how it really works.

Even though many New York Times employees are familiar with the process, they’re bound by strict confidentiality. If they ever revealed the secret, they could face legal action. That’s because the Times has filed it as an IP trade secret to protect it.

4. McDonald’s Big Mac Special Sauce

While anyone who asks can learn that Burger King puts mayonnaise on their Whoppers, no one knows what’s in the special sauce that goes on Big Macs. Assuming you’re not a vegetarian, you’ve likely had a Big Mac once in your life and tasted this unique sauce that goes on all Big Macs.

The special sauce is what sets it apart from other supersized sandwiches. It was such a well-kept secret that in the 1980s, the recipe was lost during a company’s reformulation while the Big Mac was on hiatus. It wasn’t until an executive wanted to bring the product back that they realized what they lost. 

Since we still have Big Macs, we know they found the formula, but that’s how hidden these IP trade secrets are. They’re so secret that a company with thousands of employees can lose it.

5. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Are Krispy Kreme’s doughnuts great? Of course! But are they incredibly different from other donuts? Not really. Why the secrecy around its recipe? 

Sometimes, you file something as a secret believing that it’s important to your success. Then, eventually you find out that this isn’t the case at all, but you never stop keeping the secret because… why tell anyone?

The secret behind the taste of Krispy Kreme’s doughnuts remains a mystery, but also as a reminder that not every business needs an IP trade secret to succeed.

How an Intellectual Property Lawyer Can Help You 

If you have valuable business information, like these brands do, you need to safeguard it. Working with an intellectual property lawyer can help you protect your own secrets.

Here’s how they can help:

• Identify your IP trade secrets and ensure they stay confidential.
• Draft solid non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for your employees and partners.
• Provide advice on securing other IP rights.
• Help enforce your rights if someone steals or misuses your information.
• Guide you through the process of filing legal protections like trademarks or patents.
• Help you license your IP trade secrets to generate revenue safely.

At Emerson Thomson Bennett, we are experienced in protecting your business’s secrets so you can focus on growing it.

Contact ETB Law to Protect Your Intellectual Property

These famous trade secrets highlight the importance of protecting your intellectual property. If you’re not sure what would be the best option for protecting your IP, our skilled attorneys can help. We have experience handling all types of intellectual property. If you’re looking for help with your current or future IP, we can help.

Contact us today to get started!