In the latest in HSF Kramer's series of trade secrets articles for IAM , Peter Dalton, David Webb and Tim Gollan discuss the thorny issue of reverse engineering in the context of protecting trade secrets.
Reverse engineering can be a mechanism whereby competitors attempt to identify trade secrets by examining a product or trying to recreate an effect or service. This can be approached in a lawful manner, but there are risks associated with reverse engineering that combines an element of breach of confidence or breach of contract, as well as risks of infringement of other IP rights. The protections afforded under trade secrets law (as well as contract and other IP laws) can be employed in such situations to prevent or control the use of information acquired in this fashion. These are issues about which both trade secrets owners and those seeking to use reverse engineering legitimately need to be aware.
The interplay between reverse engineering and trade secret protection - IAM (published by IAM on 11 November 2025) considers the use and effectiveness of restrictions contained in the various laws which govern the protection of trade secrets, as well as the use of contractual and technological restrictions that can be applied to deal with reverse engineering approaches to determining key information contained in products or services.