EP #146: Patents vs. Trade Secrets — Protect Your Concrete Ideas

About this episode

Seth Tandett discusses the complexities of intellectual property in the construction industry with guest Chen Wang.

PRESENTED BY: CONCRETE LOGIC ACADEMY Practical education and ongoing development for concrete professionals at every stage of their career. Join here: https://www.concretelogicacademy.com/ EPISODE SUMMARY If you’re building something new in this industry—mix designs, equipment, software, processes—there’s a good chance you’re creating intellectual property… without realizing it. In this episode, Seth Tandett sits down with Chen Wang, CEO of Steelike, to talk patents, trade secrets, NDAs, and the real-world decisions that decide whether you protect your advantage—or hand it to someone else. This isn’t legal theory. It’s how innovation actually gets copied in construction, why “we’ll just patent it” is usually oversimplified, and what a smart IP strategy looks like when you’re trying to build a business. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN · The difference between patents, trade secrets, and copyrights (and why it matters) · When a patent makes sense—and when it can create new headaches · How trade secrets can last forever (but only if you treat them like secrets) · What you should protect: formulations, processes, tooling, or workflow · Why NDAs are common—and why they don’t magically solve…

People in this episode

Host: Seth Tandett

Guest: Chen Wang

Topics covered

• intellectual property
• patents
• trade secrets
• construction
• innovation
• business strategy

Keywords

• patents
• trade secrets
• NDAs
• intellectual property
• construction
• innovation
• business model

Sponsors

Concrete Logic Academy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Steelike

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