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Evergreening Through Trade Secrets As An Impediment To Green Technology Transfer, Leslyn A. Lewis

Leslyn A. Lewis

Patent law was constructed to facilitate innovation and development by granting a limited monopoly in exchange for right of the public to be able to use the invention after the expiry of the exclusivity period. The trade-off to grant intellectual property protection as a reward for the investment in an invention is intended to be a temporary benefit. Patent owners have devised creative ways to “evergreen” the product or process with the result of extending the life-cycle. Trade secrets have been thought of as the weakest form of intellectual property because non-disclosure is the only form of protection. In other …