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This article draws on a recently completed study for the European Commission on trade secrets in the data economy. It distils the main findings of that Study and advances it by reflecting on and analyzing these findings in the context of existing legal, management and economics literature, as well as their implications for EU legal policymaking when it comes to trade secrets law. In order to facilitate data sharing, the article argues for a cautious approach, with very modest legislative reforms to the EU Trade Secrets Directive, instead preferring soft law and practical steps to be taken. There is, however, greater scope to reform legal regimes that are complementary to EU trade secrets law, such as the sui generis database right.
An Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights and Formal and Informal Protection Strategies
(2023)
Patent Management
(2021)
Both public policy and business management are increasingly interested in how to manage trade secrets. One of the driving forces is the growing significance of data as an asset, as ‘oil of the 21st century'. Trade secrets are often seen as the major Intellectual Property (IP) tool for protecting data. There is also the understanding that the need to share data is increasing to allow for new types of innovation. This paper seeks to understand how data sharing practices and the use of trade secrets are evolving in the agricultural industries. Using explorative empirical data from four in-depth case studies, the paper develops a framework for data sharing practices, value sharing, and trade secrets use. We find that current data sharing practices pool around two scenarios, where data is not shared or shared only with limited partners (hence closed) and there are differences whether value created from the data is shared. We conclude that a nuanced view on the use of trade secrets in data sharing is mandated for both IP/data managers and scholars analysing the topic.