What is know-how?
Know-how is the body of practical, non-public knowledge that lets a business do something better than competitors: production techniques, formulas, process documentation, quality procedures, supplier practices, sales playbooks. Unlike a patent it is not registered and not published; its value depends entirely on staying confidential and being transferable in a usable form.
How know-how is protected and monetised
Protection rests on two legs. Contractually, NDAs, confidentiality clauses in employment agreements and licence agreements define who may use the knowledge and for what. Practically, access controls, documentation discipline and need-to-know policies keep the asset secret in fact, which is what the law ultimately protects. Monetisation runs through know-how licences, often bundled with trademark or patent licences in franchising and technology transfer, priced as lump sums or running royalties.
Know-how under Turkish law
Turkish law protects know-how as a trade secret rather than a registered right: unfair competition rules under Articles 54 and 55 of the Commercial Code sanction unauthorised use and disclosure, and Article 239 of the Criminal Code criminalises disclosure of commercial secrets. In transactions, know-how transfers appear in asset deals, licence agreements and technology transfer arrangements; payments for know-how to non-residents are treated as intangible-rights income subject to withholding, similar to royalties. Because there is no registration, due diligence focuses on documentation: what exactly is the know-how, who has access, and which contracts protect it.
What is the difference between know-how and a patent?
A patent is a published, registered monopoly limited in time; know-how is unregistered and lasts as long as secrecy lasts. Many technology transfers combine both: the patent covers the claim, the know-how covers how to actually run the process at industrial quality.
How is know-how valued in a transaction?
Through the profit it protects: cost advantages, yield differences, time-to-market. Buyers discount heavily for key-person risk, so codifying know-how into documentation before a sale directly increases price.
Can employees take know-how to a new employer?
General skill and experience travel with the employee; documented trade secrets do not. The line is drawn by unfair competition law and the contracts in place, which is why confidentiality and, where enforceable, non-compete clauses should be drafted before the critical knowledge is shared.
Related terms: trade secret, licensing, royalty.
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