NIPC News

Jane Lambert On 9 June 2018 the Trade Secrets Directive  was implemented into English and Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish law by The Trade Secrets (Enforcement etc) Regulations 2018 . I discussed the directive's provisions in The Trade Secrets Directive   7 July 2016 NIPC Law and its implementation in  Transposing the Trade Secrets Directive into English Law: The Trade Secrets (Enforcement etc) Regulations   6 June 2018. I also advised that Trade Secrecy Law changes Tomorrow - check your NDA, Standard Terms and other Agreements   8 June 2018 NIPC Inventors Club. In this article I consider the checks that business owners and professional advisers should make to ensure that their contract terms comply with the new law. References to Confidentiality Agreements in the Directive The Trade Secrets Directive makes only two references to confidentiality agreements.   Art 4 (3) (b) lists "being in breach of a confidentiality agreement" as ...

Jane Lambert As I noted in The Trade Secrets Directive 7 July 2016 NIPC Law, Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure has to be transposed into national law by 9 June 2018. The Intellectual Property Office has published draft regulations that appear in Annex A of a consultation document on draft regulations concerning draft secrets.  These regulations are likely ti be called "The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018." A news story dated 19 Feb 2018 explains that the government is canvassing views on those draft regulations and has posed the following questions: "Q1. Do you agree that regulations 2 and 3 implement effectively the definitions in the Directive? Q2. What are your views on the rules set out in regulations 4 – 9? Q3. Do you agree t...