Much has been written about the recently implemented General Data Protection Regulation in Europe—rightly so, given the impact of the regulations. This has led to other significant activity regarding intellectual property receiving less notice. The Directive on the Protection of Trade Secrets was adopted by the European Union in 2016 to harmonize national laws on the protection against misappropriation of trade secrets, which the directive recognized as critical to growth and economic activity in the 21st century. Given the varied landscape of trade secret laws throughout Europe, there was much activity to align laws and procedures prior to the June 9 deadline to be in compliance with the directive. In light of this reform, companies doing business in Europe or with European entities should understand the new protections afforded trade secrets in Europe, as well as which countries are in compliance and which have not yet made the necessary changes.

The directive provides minimal levels of protection that must be afforded to trade secrets, defined as information that is not generally known or readily ascertainable to those in the field, has commercial value because of its secrecy, and has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances to keep it secret. Under these standards, European countries must prohibit of the unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets including both the secrets themselves and information from which the trade secrets can be deduced. Such unlawful activity includes conduct that is “contrary to honest commercial practices under the circumstances.” In an expansion over much prior European law, acquisition and use by a party are unlawful where the party knew or ought to have known that the information had been obtained directly or indirectly from a third party who had unlawfully obtained or used the information.