Only two-thirds of EU member states have specific legislation protecting trade secrets, and trade secret protection varies widely. This acts as a significant barrier to legal and commercial certainty across Europe, and restricts innovation and exploitation of trade secrets across the European market. The EU's proposed Directive on the protection of trade secrets is a positive step towards effective harmonisation across EU member states and, for the first time, will establish a recognised framework of minimum protections regarding abuse of trade secrets.
FW spoke to Warren Wayne, Robert Williams and Simon Shooter at Bird & Bird, about protecting trade secrets in the European Union.
TalkingPoint: Protecting trade secrets in the European Union
