FORPIQ Unlocks "Business Secrets": A Q&A with Author Sylvain Roy on Competitive Advantage

In today's hyper-competitive landscape, what truly separates the thriving enterprise from the struggling one? Often, it's not just about patents and trademarks, but the discreet, invaluable knowledge within. To delve into this often-overlooked aspect of intellectual property, David Durand, attorney and trademark agent, co-founder of MVIP, and President of the International Intellectual Property Forum – Quebec (FORPIQ), sat down with Sylvain Roy, attorney, founder of SRA and SRV, and co-author of the Springer  book, Business Secrets Management: Strategies to Protect, Extract and Maximize Value.

Here's an extract of what they discussed:

David Durand (FORPIQ): Sylvain, your new book, Business Secrets Management, is a timely addition to the intellectual property discourse. What was the impetus behind creating this book? Why now?

Sylvain Roy: Thank you, David. It's a pleasure to speak with you and FORPIQ. The book is a collaborative work of thirteen international authors, all members of the Licensing Executives Society (LES).  The core motivation behind this book is to fill a need for practical guidance on how to protect, manage and monetize business secrets. All co-authors noticed a significant gap in how small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and scale-ups understand and effectively manage their "business secrets."  Hence the book is intended primarily to managers and advisors of corporations and institutions whose responsibilities include oversight of intangibles and intellectual property. 

Sylvain Roy, attorney, SRA, SRV

While patents and trademarks receive a lot of attention, the critical role of confidential information – unique processes and customer relationships to unpatented technologies, financial strategies, and increasingly, algorithmic models and proprietary data flows – remains underestimated and inadequately protected.

We frequently observe situations where companies erode significant competitive advantages, often resulting in material financial losses, because of inadequate handling or inadvertent disclosure of their confidential assets. The "why now" is crucial because the pace of innovation, the fluidity of employment, and the increasing interconnectedness of businesses globally make this topic more vital than ever. 

At the same time, legal frameworks governing trade secrets are evolving both domestically and internationally. Businesses therefore require clear, actionable guidance that avoids overly technical legal formulations and remains accessible for strategic decision-making. Our objective was to translate legal frameworks into practical tools that companies can integrate into their business operations and strategic planning – including transaction and dispute contexts.

David Durand (FORPIQ): That makes a lot of sense. So, in your view, why are business secrets so important to strengthening one's competitive advantage?

Sylvain Roy: Business secrets are, in essence, the hidden engines of competitive advantage. Unlike patents, which require public disclosure, business secrets derive their strength from confidentiality. This allows enterprises to maintain distinctive processes, technologies, and strategies that competitors cannot easily replicate through reverse engineering or use of public information.

Consider the classic examples: Coca-Cola's recipe, KFC's 11 herbs and spices, or even Google's search algorithms. These assets are not protected by patents, but by meticulous management of their secrecy, conferring a sustained advantage - through monopolistic access - for as long as confidentiality is maintained.

For SMEs and scale-ups, the same principle applies. Protected client relationships, distinctive sales methodologies, optimized supply chain models, or proprietary internal training programs can serve as decisive differentiators. These elements contribute to operational efficiency, cost savings, unique product offerings, and ultimately, higher profitability. They represent an accumulation of knowledge and experience that is difficult and costly for competitors to acquire, giving the company a head start and sustained market position. In several recent mandates, we observed that hidden know-how and proprietary data were the primary drivers of enterprise value – at times outweighing the significance of registered intellectual property.

Furthermore, business secrets offer flexibility. They don't have a fixed term like patents, meaning their protection can last indefinitely as long as reasonable efforts are made to keep them secret. This long-term protection is invaluable for maintaining market leadership and fostering continuous innovation. In the current environment, where artificial intelligence, training data, and data processing algorithms are strategic assets, effective management of business secrets becomes indispensable for maintaining competitive positioning over time.

David Durand (FORPIQ): Fascinating. So, for a company looking to leverage business secrets more effectively, what would be your key takeaway from the book?

Sylvain Roy: The single most important takeaway is that business secrets are assets that require proactive and strategic management, not just reactive legal protection. It's not enough to simply have valuable confidential information; you must know what your secrets are, actively protect them through a multi-layered approach (contractual, technological, physical and cultural), and strategically leverage them for value creation, whether through internal use, licensing, or M&A activities.

The book provides practical strategies and case studies to help businesses identify, categorize, protect, and ultimately monetize these invaluable assets. Ultimately, the management of business secrets is not a siloed legal function. It constitutes an integrated strategic requirement that involves leadership, research and development, human resources, compliance, and finance – it's a holistic business imperative for sustainable growth and a robust competitive advantage.

Sylvain Roy's book, "Business Secrets Management: Strategies to Protect, Extract and Maximize Value," published by Springer, is available now. FORPIQ continues to champion the importance of intellectual property in driving innovation and economic growth in Quebec and beyond. Book reference: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-82512-5 . 

Join us November 26, 2025 at #FORPIQ2025: Strengthening Canada’s competitive advantage in a global economy, online or in person (subject approval).