Definition of Industrial Know-how
Know-how can be defined as confidentially held, or better, 'closely held' information in the form of unpatented inventions, formulae, designs, drawings, procedures and methods, together with accumulated skills and experience in the hands of a licensor firm's professional personnel which could assist a transferee/licensee of the object product in its manufacture and use and bring to it a competitive advantage. It can be further supported with privately maintained expert knowledge on the operation, maintenance, use/application of the object product and of its sale, usage or disposition.
The inherent proprietary value of know-how lies embedded in the legal protection afforded to trade secrets in general law, particularly, 'case law'. Know-how, in short, is "private intellectual property". The 'trade secret law' varies from country to country, unlike the case for patents, trademarks and copyright where there are formal 'conventions' through which subscribing countries grant the same protection to the 'property' as the others; examples of which are the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), under United Nations, a supportive organization designed "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world".
A trade- secret may be defined as:
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- it is information
- it is secret, not absolutely so
- there is intent to keep it secret
- it has industrial, financial or trade application
- it has economic value
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For purposes of illustration, the following may be a provision in a license agreement serving to define know-how:
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