UKIPO launches trade secrets consultation
The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) yesterday launched a technical consultation on the EU trade secrets directive and the draft regulations that will implement the directive into UK law.
The directive obliges EU member states to ensure that victims of trade secret misuse are able to defend their rights in court and seek compensation. Provisions on ensuring trade secrets are kept confidential during legal proceedings are also covered.
According to the IPO, the directive doesn’t require substantial changes to be made to UK law.
Lorna Brazell, partner at Osborne Clarke, explained that the directive is an example of the EU requiring the rest of its member states to adopt something that looks a lot like existing UK law.
“Any changes to our law should be no more than tinkering, unlike some other states, such as Spain, which is having to overhaul its existing treatment of trade secrets completely,” she noted.
The main changes concern limitation or prescriptive periods, procedural issues for the courts when hearing cases on breach of confidence in relation to trade secrets, and certain remedies.
In an executive summary of the consultation, the IPO said that the regulations provide a statutory definition of the term “trade secret” and set out rules concerning time periods for bringing proceedings.
Procedural issues for the courts include the preservation of confidentiality of trade secrets during and after proceedings.
The proposed regulations include provisions on the measures which may be imposed on an infringer and for compensation to be paid in certain circumstances.
Brazell added that the directive “seeks to address the uneven protection of trade secrets across the EU”.
She said: “It provides minimum standards for measures, procedures and remedies that holders of trade secrets can rely on in cases of unlawful acquisition, use, or disclosure.”
The consultation closes on March 16.
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