Definition
Trade secret (intellectual property) [Ro.: Secret comercial, Fr.: secret commercial, De.:Geschäftsgeheimnisse] (See also: industrial secret, business information, trust secret, trade dress, copyright, patent, trademark, intellectual property) = a collection of information including manufacturing processes, sales methods, advertising strategies not generally known to the public that confers economic and competitive advantage for a company. In common law jurisdictions, trade secrets are regarded as an equitable right rather than a property right.Thus, English law takes a flexible approach to the protection of trade secrets, treating it as part of the law of equity. In some EU Member States, the misuse or disclosure of trade secrets can attract penal (criminal or civil) measures. In the United States, misappropriation of trade secrets is forbidden by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) and the Economic Espionage Act of 1996. Also, in the United States, unlike other forms of intellectual property such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks, organizations cannot register their trade secrets with the government to protect proprietary information.
Useful links
Legislation link
http://www.consiliulconcurentei.ro/uploads/docs/items/bucket10/id10124/lege_nr11_1991_actualizata.pdf Law No. 11 of January 29, 1991, on the Repression of Unfair Competition, art. 1 letter d) [Romanian]
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016L0943&from=EN, 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 [English]
Case law
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/568/1347/2375680 US District Court for the Northern District of New York, Sheridan v. Mallinckrodt, Inc., 1983
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/824/961/1460510/ United States District Court, D. Colorado. RIVENDELL FOREST PRODUCTS, LTD. v. GEORGIA-PACIFIC CORPORATION and Timothy L. Cornwell, 1993
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/7:2008cv09078/334178/30/ United States District Court, International Business Machines Corporation v. Papermaster, 2008
Organisations and associations
http://www.wipo.int/portal/en/index.html WIPO-World Intellectual Property
https://www.ipo.org IPO-Intellectual Property Owners Association
Online publications
https://media2.mofo.com/documents/140630employmentlawcommentary.pdf Bevitt, A., Timner, H. and Westman, D., 2014, Protecting Trade Secrets Globally: Comparing The U.S. And Eu: Employment Law Commentary [English]
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/04/09/what-is-a-trade-secret Quinn, G., 2016, What is a Trade Secret, USA, IPWatchdog [English]
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/05/24/defintion-trade-secret-dtsa/id=69262 Toren, P., 2016, Definition of a ‘Trade Secret’ Under the DTSA, USA, IPWatchdog [English]
Publications
Budden, M. C., 1996, Protecting trade secrets under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group
Krotoski, M. L., 2009, Common Issues and Challenges in Prosecuting Trade Secret and Economic Espionage Act Cases: USA: U.S. Attorneys' Bulletin
Dreyfuss, R., Strandburg, K., (eds), 2011, The Law and Theory of Trade Secrecy: A Handbook of Contemporary Research, USA/UK: Edward Elgar Publishing