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The Notion of Secrecy / Conclusion
The Notion of Secrecy / Conclusion
Contents
Chapter
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1–22
Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis
1–22
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23–28
Introduction
23–28
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§ 1 Object, scope and structure of the research
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§ 2 Research methodology
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29–128
Chapter 1. Concept, justifications and legal nature of trade secrets
29–128
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§ 1 The significance and concept of trade secrets
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§ 2 The problematic justifications underlying trade secrets protection
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A) Deontological arguments
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I. Commercial ethics
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II. Labour value theory
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III. Contractarian theory
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B) Utilitarian arguments
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I. Incentives to innovate
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II. Incentives to disclose
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III. Limit to the arms race
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IV. The privacy rationale
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C) Conclusion on the doctrines underlying trade secrets protection
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§ 3 Dissecting the legal nature of trade secrets: between IPRs and unfair competition
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A) The unsettled relationship between trade secrets and IPRs
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I. Trade secrets and patents
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1. Trade secrets prior to patenting
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2. Preferring trade secrets over patents
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a) Analysis of economical empirical evidence
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b) Advantages of secrets over patents
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c) The risks of secrecy
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3. Simultaneous protection of trade secrets and patents
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II. Trade secrets and copyright
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III. Trade secrets and trade marks
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IV. Trade secrets and the database right: the protection of investment as such
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1. The EU two-tier legal regime for the protection of databases and its interplay with trade secrets protection
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2. The problem of protecting created data under the sui generis database right and the possibility of resorting to contractual protection
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V. Conclusion on the relationship between trade secrets and IPRs
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B) Trade secrets as the object of intellectual property law: considerations for Europe
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I. Comparative legal analysis
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1. International intellectual property convention system
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2. Common law approach
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a) England
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b) U.S.
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3. Civil law approach
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a) Italy
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b) Germany
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4. European Union approach
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II. Considering information as the object of property rights
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1. Preliminary remarks: the problematic conceptualisation of information as such as the object of IPRs
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2. The debate in the U.S.: INS v. Associated Press and its influential dissent
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3. Semiotics approach to the property debate
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4. Example case: data producer’s right
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5. Concluding remarks on the treatment of information as property
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III. Dissecting the proprietary debate in the light of the harmonised framework created by the TSD
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§ 4 Conclusion
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129–181
Chapter 2. Trade secrets protection in the international context
129–181
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§ 1 International legal sources for the protection of undisclosed information
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A) International minimum standards of protection: The TRIPs Agreement and the protection of undisclosed information
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I. General framework
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II. Negotiation history of Article 39 TRIPs
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III. The architecture of the general obligation to protect undisclosed information: Article 39(1)TRIPs
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1. Hybrid nature of the protection
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2. Construing Article 10bis PC in the context of undisclosed information
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IV. Article 39(2) TRIPs
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1. Scope of the obligation
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2. Requirements for protection
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a) Information
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b) Secrecy: Information not generally known or readily accessible
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c) Commercial value
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d) Reasonable steps to maintain secrecy
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B) Considerations from a soft law perspective: The WIPO Model Provisions on the protection of unfair competition
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§ 2 Trade secrets protection in the U.S.
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A) Evolution of trade secret law in the U.S.: main legislative sources
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B) Definition of a trade secret and requirements for protection in the U.S.
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I. Definitional aspects
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II. Requirements for protection
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1. Secrecy: information not generally known or readily ascertainable
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2. Independent economic value
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3. Reasonable measures to maintain secrecy
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a) Assessment of the “reasonableness” of the measures adopted
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b) Criticism
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C) The legal regime for the protection of trade secrets under the UTSA, the DTSA and the Restatements of the law
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§ 3 Conclusion
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182–278
Chapter 3. Fragmented protection of trade secrets across the EU leading to a harmonised system: study of the English and German models and the emerging common framework
182–278
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§ 1 Scattered protection across the internal market before the implementation of the Trade Secrets Directive: Different models
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§ 2 Trade secrets protection in Germany before the implementation of the TSD
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A) Development of the law of trade secrets
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B) Legal regime for the protection of trade secrets
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I. Constitutional Law
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II. Unfair competition law and its intersection with criminal law
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1. § 17 UWG Trade secrets disclosure
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a) Unauthorised trade secret disclosure in the course of employment
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b) Industrial espionage
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c) General prohibition
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2. § 18 UWG Use of models
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III. Civil law
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1. Criminal accessory claims
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2. Civil autonomous claims
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§ 3 Trade Secrets Protection in England before the implementation of the TSD – The law of confidentiality
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A) A note on Brexit
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B) Development of the law of confidentiality
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C) Legal regime for the protection of confidential information under the breach of confidence action
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I. Jurisdictional basis for the action
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1. Contract
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2. Equity
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3. Property
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4. Tort
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II. Liability requirements
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1. The quality of confidence
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2. The obligation of confidence
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a) Disclosure by confider to confidant
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b) Accidental acquisition
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c) Surreptitious acquisition
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d) Third party liability
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3. Unauthorised use
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III. The “springboard doctrine”
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§ 4 Concluding remarks on the comparative law analysis
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§ 5 The emerging common framework: a critical study of the Trade Secrets Directive
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A) Background of the Directive
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B) Legal basis and grounds for harmonising trade secrets protection
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C) Legal analysis of the TSD
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I. General remarks
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II. Scope of application and subject matter covered
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1. Scope of application
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2. Definition of trade secret holder and infringer
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3. Infringing goods
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III. Scope of protection: the assessment of misappropriation and lawful conducts
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1. Lawful acquisition, use and disclosure
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2. Types of infringing conduct
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a) Unlawful acquisition
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b) Unlawful use and disclosure
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c) Third party liability
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d) Import and export
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3. Exceptions
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IV. Enforcement
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1. General provisions
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2. Limitation period
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3. Preservation of confidentiality during litigation
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4. Remedies available in case of infringement
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a) Provisional and precautionary measures
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b) Injunctions and corrective measures
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c) Damages
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d) Publication of the judicial decision
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e) Claims for information and preserving evidence
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§ 6 Conclusion
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279–416
Chapter 4. Mapping the notion of secrecy
279–416
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§ 1 Secrecy in the digital age
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A) Increasing vulnerability of confidential information
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B) Constructing the public domain
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§ 2 Different concepts and requirements for protection of trade secrets before the implementation of the TSD
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A) Concept and requirements for the protection of trade secrets in Germany
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I. Distinction between Geschäftsgeheimnis and Betriebsgeheimnissen
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II. Requirements for the protection of trade secrets
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1. Information
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2. Information connected to a business — Geschäftsbezogenheit
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3. Secrecy — Nichtoffenkundigkeit
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4. Will to keep the information secret — Geheimhaltunsgswille
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5. Interest in keeping the information secret — Geheimhaltungsinteresse
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B) The notion of confidentiality in England
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I. Concepts of confidential information and trade secret in England
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II. Subject matter capable of protection
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1. Commercial value: protection of trivial information?
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2. Information that is vague
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3. Immoral and false information
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III. Confidential nature of the information
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1. The general test of inaccessibility
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2. Form of the information
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3. No need to adopt reasonable measures
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§ 3 The concept of trade secret in the Directive: considerations in the light of the comparative analysis
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A) Preliminary remarks
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B) Terminology
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C) Commercial value
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D) Private and personal information
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E) Adoption of reasonable steps
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F) A requirement of identification of the information concerned?
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§ 4 Deconstructing secrecy
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A) Evaluating the degree of secrecy required
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B) The doctrine of ready ascertainability and the principle of inaccessibility
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I. Absence of a normative standard
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II. Criticism
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C) Fencing secrecy by its negative dimension
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I. The “Third Party Doctrine” of trade secrets law and its limitations: conceptualising the different types disclosures
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II. Effects of the disclosure
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1. Disclosure in a patent application or specification
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a) England as an example case
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b) Guiding principles
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2. Disclosure to the state and its authorities
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a) England as an example case
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b) Confidentiality in the acquis communautaire and the right of access to documents
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c) Protection of competing interests in the TSD
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d) Guiding principles
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3. Marketing of a product in which the trade secret is embodied
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a) U.S.
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b) England
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c) Germany
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d) Guiding principles
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4. Disclosures on the Internet
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a) U.S.
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b) England
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c) Germany
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d) Guiding principles
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5. Limited content: combination secrets
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a) U.S.
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b) England
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c) Germany
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d) Guiding principles
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6. Disclosures in the Cloud
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a) General considerations and outline of the problem
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b) Guiding principles
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D) The doctrine of relevant circles
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I. U.S.
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II. England
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III. Germany
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IV. Guiding principles
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E) Secrecy as opposed to IPRs normative standards
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I. Novelty
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1. Novelty under the EPC
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2. U.S. cases that demand novelty
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a) Analysis of the relevant case law
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b) The “law of ideas”
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3. English cases that demand novelty under the breach of confidence action
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II. Originality
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1. U.S.
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2. England
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III. Conclusion – protection of abstract ideas
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F) Excursus: Trade secrets and Big Data — the way forward?
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I. The Data Economy and the associated phenomena
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II. Assessing the possibility of relying on trade secrets protection for industrial data
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1. Reconciling the legal requirements of protection of trade secrets law with Big Data
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2. Additional problems: identifying the trade secret holder and the risk of infringement
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3. Conclusion on the applicability of the trade secrets liability regime to Big Data
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§ 5 Conclusion
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417–466
Chapter 5. Study case: the strategic importance of secrecy in the perfume industry
417–466
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§ 1 Preliminary remarks on the methodology applied
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§ 2 The perfume industry
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§ 3 The protection of perfumes through IPRs
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A) Copyright
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I. Object of protection
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II. Requirements for protection
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1. Literary and artistic work
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2. Originality: author’s own intellectual creation
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3. Fixation
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III. Evaluation
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B) Patent Law
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I. Object of protection
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1. Aromatic compounds
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2. Aromatic compositions
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II. Requirements for protection
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III. Evaluation
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C) Trade mark law
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I. Object of protection
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II. Requirements for protection
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1. Signs
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2. Representation
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3. Distinctiveness
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4. Functionality
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III. Evaluation
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D) Unfair competition – Comparative advertisement
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I. Object of protection
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II. Requirements for protection in the wake of L’Oréal v Bellure
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1. Two-step test: Definition of comparative advertisement and the appraisal of fairness
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2. Presentation of products as imitations in the wake of L’Oréal v Bellure
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III. Evaluation
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§ 4 The role of trade secrets in the protection of perfumes
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A) Importance of trade secrets for the perfume industry
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B) Increasing vulnerability of trade secrets in the perfume sector
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I. Reverse engineering
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II. Demands for disclosure and transparency
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III. Electronic information storage and transmission
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IV. Employment mobility
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V. Measures adopted to protect the company’s trade secrets
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§ 5 Conclusion
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467–560
Chapter 6. The internal and external spheres of secrecy and their limitations
467–560
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§ 1 The two shperes of secrecy
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A) The internal sphere of secrecy: confidentiality and employees
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I. Implied duty of confidentiality during the course of the employment relationship
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II. Secrecy obligations of departing employees
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1. Employees general skills, knowledge and experience and the implied obligation of secrecy after the termination of the employment relationship
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a) Comparative law analysis
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aa) U.S.
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bb) England
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cc) Germany
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b) Implied secrecy obligation of departing employees under the TSD
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c) Guiding principles
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2. Some considerations regarding post contractual non-disclosure and non-competition clauses
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a) Comparative law analysis
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aa) U.S.
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bb) England
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cc) Germany
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b) Post-contractual obligations under the TSD
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B) The external sphere of secrecy
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I. Licensing agreements
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1. Object and legal nature
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2. Secrecy obligations
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a) Pre-contractual obligations of secrecy
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b) During the term of the contract
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aa) Secrecy obligations of the licensor
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bb) Secrecy obligations of the licensee
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c) After the termination of the contract
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II. R&D agreements
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1. Object and legal nature
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2. Secrecy obligations
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§ 2 The limitations of secrecy
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A) Independent discovery and creation
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B) Reverse engineering
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I. Conceptual introductory remarks
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II. Rationales underlying reverse engineering
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III. Comparative law analysis
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1. TRIPs
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2. U.S.
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3. England before the implementation of the TSD
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4. Germany before the implementation of the TSD
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IV. Reverse engineering under the TSD
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1) Scope of the reverse engineering pursuant to Article 3(1)(b) TSD
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2) Contractual limitations on the possibility of reverse engineering and in particular the interplay with the Software Directive
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3) Guiding principles
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C) Competition law as an inherent limitation to the protection conferred by a trade secret
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§ 3 The optimal scope of secrecy: a balanced approach in the light of the TSD
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A) The Nordhaus model and trade secrets protection
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B) Legal application of the Nordhaus model to trade secrets protection: introduction of a presumption regarding post-contractual duration in business-to-business relationships
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561–568
Conclusion
561–568
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569–570
Annex 1: Transcript of the Interview with head of IP Perfume Company 1
569–570
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571–572
Annex 2: Transcript of the interview with Perfumist Rosendo Mateu
571–572
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573–600
Zusammenfassung
573–600
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601–640
Bibliography
601–640
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The Notion of Secrecy , page 561 - 568
Conclusion
Autoren
Teresa Trallero Ocaña
DOI
doi.org/10.5771/9783748911975-561
ISBN print: 978-3-8487-7146-2
ISBN online: 978-3-7489-1197-5
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