Have you ever wondered what ingredients give Coca Cola or McDonald’s Big Mac special sauce their distinct flavour? Or how the Google search algorithm works? Well, you may have to keep wondering, because this is confidential information known only to these companies – they are trade secrets.
But what exactly is a trade secret? What isn’t? How can trade secrets be protected? What are the challenges? What does the EU Trade Secrets Directive cover?
Objectives:
To learn:
1. What is a trade secret?
2. Why are trade secrets important/valuable?
3. How were trade secrets protected before the Directive?
4. Why did the Commission introduce the Trade Secrets Directive?
5. What is the new legal definition of a trade secret under the Directive?
6. Rights conferred on a trade secret holder under the Directive
7. Important aspects of trade secret protection
8. Typical problems in practice
9. Conclusions
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 55 minutes