The Protection of Trade Secrets came into force on 26 April 2019, implementing the EU Trade Secret Directive (2016/943) into domestic legislation. It introduced the first statutory definition of a trade secret, imposing more stringent requirements for business information to be recognised as a trade secret and benefit from protection under EU law.
Definition of a trade secret
Under the new legal definition, information must meet the following three requirements to qualify as a trade secret:
‒ it is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question;
‒ it has commercial value because it is secret;
‒ it has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret.
In this briefing, Dr Emma Bickerstaffe will highlight how the ISF is supporting Members in meeting the new legal definition of a trade secret. We will also look at how ISF research, tools and methodologies can help you build and implement appropriate measures to protect relevant information.