Trade secrets in the data economy
This paper is based on a co-authored study that seeks to understand to what extent the legal protection of trade secrets enables business-to-business data sharing. Grounded in an evidence base of 50 semi-structured interviews and 95 survey responses, the study uses legal, economics and management perspectives. We find that data sharing is still in its infancy, with much scope for growth; that firms generally have minimal experience with the EU Trade Secrets Directive 2016/943 and lack clarity in assessing the requirements for trade secrets protection; and that trade secrets protection is seen as a supplement to contractual agreements. We recommend firms are supported with awareness and training, increased clarification of the Trade Secrets Directive, in part through legal changes but also through guidance, and that further research into how EU trade secrets law interacts with other areas of law needs to occur.
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