One of the best known lubricants for cars, bikes and other mechanic devices – WD 40 – made a surprising choice 50 years ago in relation to their IP protection. Instead of patenting the WD 40 formula they chose to keep it secret and rely on brand protection. The chioce was a good one since their brand is very strong and nobody knows the formula for their product…until now. Wired has analyzed the ingredients of WD 40. But even if some of the ingredients has been found out the exact composition is still unknown. WD 40 has enjoyed more than 50 years of “protection” – which is 30 more than a patent would have given them and at the same time given them a petter position in relation to their competitors. Indeed a strategy where secrecy was more preferrable than patenting…for the company.
