The European Commission has tasked French politician Constance Le Grip with driving the harmonisation of the EU legal framework for trade secrets, but her efforts have met resistance. WIPR reports.
In Jonathan Franzen’s 1992 novel “Strong Motion”, the protagonist Renée Seitchek attempts to obtain photographic evidence that a petrochemical plant is deliberately inducing earthquakes in the Boston area.
Franzen’s scenario has similarities with the dispute between DuPont and Rolfe and Gary Christopher. In 1970, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found the photographers liable for the theft of the company’s trade secrets in taking pictures of DuPont’s plant.
While this form of industrial espionage was a US matter, the theft of trade secrets is just as much a big concern for European businesses. A report published by the European Commission in 2013 noted that of the companies it surveyed, 75% attached a medium or high importance to trade secrets.
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DuPont, Rolfe and Gary Christopher, trade secrets, Constance Le Grip