BUSINESS SECRET PROTECTION
The REAF has published this interesting reflection on Directive 2016/943 on the protection of technical expertise and business information undisclosed, which entered into force on 5 July:
Companies have the right to sue anyone who publishes information they consider as a trade secret and will be the judge will have to weigh between this economic law and the right to information.
Companies value their business secrets as well as intellectual property and using confidentiality as a management tool for business competitiveness and innovation in research with the aim of protecting information covering not only technical knowledge but also trade data customers and suppliers, business plans, market studies and strategies. Innovation is an important stimulus for the development of knowledge and emergency calls with new business models based on the use of knowledge acquired collectively. But innovative companies are exposed to unfair practices pursued misappropriation of trade secrets, such as theft, unauthorized copying, economic espionage or breach of confidentiality requirements. How to avoid it? Maybe and maybe I’m just saying, By a standard?
Of course, this is Directive 2016/943 on the protection of technical expertise and business information undisclosed, which came into force yesterday on July 5, with a transitional period of two years for Member States European Union proceed with their transposition. A rule not without controversy
for some
This new regulation only:
-Confiere A harmonized legal framework for the Union
-Includes Aspects such as the definition of trade secret, determining the scope of the protection conferred and civil actions that may bring the legitimate holder of the business secret from those responsible for their production, use or unlawful disclosure or exploitation of goods infringing.
-Exige Generating companies know-how creating a culture of protection of business secrets and implementation of compliance measures essential for protection before the courts.
And for other
This new regulation also:
Assures absolute opacity of businesses because it allows them to perpetrate any irregularity or machination without fear that they can be disclosed.
-defines So broad and ambiguously trade secrets that any internal information of a company can be considered as such.
You judge. Same
Parliament and the European Council mean by trade secret any information that meets the following requirements:
a) Be secret in the sense of not being, as a whole or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known by persons belonging to the circles that normally the type of information in question is used, or readily accessible to these;
b) Have a commercial value for its secrecy;
c) it Has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, to keep it secret by the person legally exercising its control
Conduct and prohibited acts
Obtaining a trade secret without the consent of the holder shall be deemed unlawful when carried out by:
How?
a) The unauthorized access and the appropriation or unauthorized copying of any document, object, material, substance or electronic file, which is lawfully under the control of the holder of the trade secret and contains trade secrets or from which this can be deduced;
b) Any other behavior that, in the circumstances, is considered in fair trading practices.
Who?
The use or disclosure of a trade secret is deemed unlawful when carried out without the consent of its owner, a person for stating that any of the following conditions:
a) have obtained the trade secrets illegally;
b) Violating a confidentiality agreement or any other obligation not to disclose trade secrets;
c) Failure to comply with a contractual or any other measures to limit the use of commercial secrecy obligation.
Knowledge
The collection, use or disclosure of a trade secret will also be deemed unlawful when a person at the time of collection, use or disclosure, knew, or should have known in the circumstances that the trade secret was obtained directly or indirectly from another person using or illegally he revealed
The production, supply or sale of infringing goods or the import, export or storage of infringing goods such purposes illicit uses of a trade secret shall also be considered when the person carrying out these activities knew, or should have known in the circumstances of case, that the trade secret was used illicitly
Anyway it is certain companies have the right to sue anyone who publishes information they consider as a trade secret and will be the judge who will have to assess between this economic law and the right to information.
Like it or not, this Directive, together with other standards, as well recent General Regulation on Data Protection of the European Union, carry with it the obligation to establish certain monitoring protocols and security measures designed to protect virtually all the “know make “your company
Leave aside opinions and watches protests and put up because within two years, no later than June 9, 1018 Spain must do homework and move into our legal system this European Directive. That’s when companies knowing protected by law, they will choose from the hand of his advisers which way of protection is the most appropriate and, as happens in matters of compliance, will have to equip themselves with procedures, instruments and systems of knowledge protection .