Book excerpt: Of all the intangible assets, trade secrets are the most valuable and the most intangible of all. Their existence depends entirely on the standard of care applied by the information owner. Failure to meet this standard of care can result in the loss of the company's entire portfolio of trade secrets without any legal recourse. Trade Secret Asset Management provides essential understanding of the legal, security, and accounting issues surrounding trade secret assets. The legal discussion includes the definition of trade secrets, their importance to the corporation, and the manner in which they are defended or lost. Security issues include protecting trade secrets against insider and outsider theft, and the often neglected issue of inbound security. The accounting section details the processes of inventory, identification, valuation, and reporting of trade secrets, and concludes with a discussion of new corporate responsibilities for trade secret assets under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.