Some companies obtain patents mainly to license or sell them to others, thus making money from their inventions without having to manufacture or service anything themselves.
A trade secret may relate to technical matters, such as the composition or design of a product, a method of manufacture, or the know-how necessary to perform a particular operation.
It is Harder to take advantage of foreign countries' knowledge if one is not located there because culture, geography, and secrecy make knowledge Harder to diffuse across international borders.