Tuesday, August 18, 2015

WD-40's Formula Remains a Trade Secret

The formula for WD-40, the lubricant, rust protector, and squeak eliminator, is locked in a vault in San Diego.  Chemists invented it sometime in the 1950s to stop corrosion on the outside of the Atlas space rocket.  Amazingly, the chemists wrote the original formula in pencil on a notepad.  In order to maintain the secrecy of the formula, WD-40 mixes it "in house" and then sends the concentrate to its manufacturing operations.  From there, the manufacturers add some other ingredients and then put the product in the blue and yellow containers with the red cap. 

It takes quite a bit of work to maintain a trade secret.  Often, the secret or product is no longer useful or wanted by consumers.  It is amazing that the WD-40 recipe is still both a secret and in demand.  In fact, WD-40 keeps growing steadily.  Its growth is especially apparent in foreign markets.  Sometimes when you have "that" one product that you believe will be in demand for decades, it makes more sense to try and protect it as a trade secret rather than try to patent it.  It takes work and constant vigilance, but if successful, you can have protection for a very long time.  Whereas, with a patent, you get protection for a relatively short period of time. 

It is a good idea to conduct an annual review of your company's trade secrets in order to make sure that they keep their trade secret status. 

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