Patent or Trade Secret? What Every Startup Founder Should Know

When you’re building a startup, one of the first big questions you’ll face about protecting your innovation is: Should I pursue a patent, or keep it as a trade secret? The answer depends on your goals, your resources, and your timeline. Let’s break it down.

What Is a Patent?

A patent is a government-granted right that gives you exclusive control over your invention for up to 20 years. In exchange for this exclusivity, you disclose how your invention works to the public. Patents can be powerful tools for:

• Attracting investors and partners

• Blocking competitors from copying your invention

• Increasing company valuation

But they also come with costs—both in terms of money and time.

What Is a Trade Secret?

A trade secret can include a technical feature of your product or process that gives you an edge because it isn’t publicly known—and you take steps to keep it confidential. Examples include proprietary algorithms, manufacturing methods, chemical formulations, or engineering designs. Trade secrets can be:

• Protected indefinitely, as long as they remain secret

• Cost-effective to maintain (no filing fees)

• A great fit for features or processes that can’t easily be reverse engineered

The risk, however, is that if the information leaks or someone independently discovers it, you lose protection.

Why Provisional Patents Are the Smart Play

For early-stage startups, the best strategy often isn’t choosing between patent or trade secret right away—it’s preserving both options. That’s where a provisional patent application comes in.

Filing a provisional:

• Preserves optionality: You get 12 months to decide whether to pursue a full patent or keep the invention as a trade secret.

• Documents possession: It establishes a clear record that you had the invention at a certain point in time.

• Supports trade secret protection: Even if you don’t move forward with a patent, the provisional serves as robust documentation of your intellectual property.

• Stays private: Unlike granted patents, provisional filings never see the light of day unless you convert them into a non-provisional patent.

In short, it’s the best of both worlds—without locking you into an early, expensive decision.

Why Idea Clerk Is Built for This

Traditionally, filing even a provisional patent could cost $5,000–$15,000 with a law firm. For many startups, that’s a non-starter.

Idea Clerk changes the game. For less than $50, you can get a high-quality provisional on file—preserving your right to patent later or keep your invention a trade secret. It’s fast, affordable, and designed specifically for founders.

The Bottom Line

As a startup founder, you don’t need to decide on “patent or trade secret” on day one. File a provisional, keep your options open, and focus your energy where it matters most—building your company.