What is the law on trade secrets in the European Union?

The European Union (EU) has a range of regulations and laws governing trade secrets, including the Trade Secrets Directive of 2016. This directive sets out minimum standards for the protection of trade secrets throughout the EU and is applicable in all 28 member states. The Trade Secrets Directive applies to any information that has a commercial value and is not commonly known within the industry. This includes confidential information such as business plans, processes, ideas, formulas, recipes, source codes, customer lists, or strategies. To qualify as a trade secret, the information must have been subject to reasonable steps to keep it secret. The Trade Secrets Directive grants trade secret owners several rights, such as the right to prevent unauthorized access to, use, or disclosure of their trade secrets. Additionally, the directive provides for the ability to seek compensation for losses resulting from violations of trade secret rights. The Trade Secrets Directive also sets out a list of activities that would not constitute a violation of trade secret rights, such as reverse engineering, data collection, and independent discovery. This list is intended to protect businesses from losing their trade secrets while allowing others to compete fairly. Overall, the Trade Secrets Directive of the European Union provides a comprehensive set of laws and regulations to protect and secure trade secrets. This Directive is designed to create a level playing field for businesses and to ensure that innovators across the EU are able to protect their valuable information.

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What is the law on trade secrets in the European Union?

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