Every business depends on information—and risks losing it. In this opening lecture, Professor Seth C. Oranburg introduces the paradox at the heart of trade secret law: how companies can share information to operate and innovate without destroying its secrecy. Through the story of the Coca-Cola formula and other iconic examples, you’ll learn why trade secrets are often called the “dark matter” of intellectual property—hidden but immensely valuable. The episode traces the evolution of trade secret protection from scattered common-law cases to modern statutes like the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and it explains the core three-element test that defines every protected secret. By the end, listeners will see how disciplined sharing—supported by law, contracts, and culture—turns confidentiality into a strategic advantage for innovators, executives, and lawyers alike.

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