The Law And Theory Of Trade Secrecy

This timely Handbook marks a major shift in innovation studies, moving the focus of attention from the standard intellectual property regimes of copyright, patent, and trademark, to an exploration of trade secrecy and the laws governing know-how, tacit knowledge, and confidential relationships. The editors introduce the long tradition of trade secrecy protection and its emerging importance as a focus of scholarly inquiry. The book then presents theoretical, doctrinal, and comparative considerations of the foundations of trade secrecy, before moving on to study the impact of trade secrecy regimes on innovation and on other social values. Coverage includes topics such as sharing norms, expressive interests, culture, politics, competition, health, and the environment. This important Handbook offers the first modern exploration of trade secrecy law and will strongly appeal to intellectual property academics, and to students and lawyers practicing in the intellectual property area. Professors in competition law, constitutional law and environmental law will also find much to interest them in this book, as will innovation theorists.

Current theories governing trade secrets law incompletely and inadequately protect substantial investment in innovation, rendering them inefficient, reactionary, and largely illusory. Trade secret law exists to fill a gap between other forms of intellectual property and to encourage substantial investment in innovation and to recoup the time and money expended pursuing it, to the long-term benefit of the greater public good. Without strong trade secret protections, the “tragedy of the commons” would lead to the unfair destruction of the fruits of capital and labor and discourage investment in activities calculated to benefit the public, thus hurting our society. I propose a modern property theory of trade secrets law that blends elements of both in an attempt to recalibrate the incentives our law offers innovators in the age of the Internet.

As technological developments multiply around the globeâ€"even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussionâ€"nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology. This thought-provoking volume offers an update on current international IPR negotiations and includes case studies on software, computer chips, optoelectronics, and biotechnologyâ€"areas characterized by high development cost and easy reproducibility. The volume covers these and other issues: Modern economic theory as a basis for approaching international IPRs. U.S. intellectual property practices versus those in Japan, India, the European Community, and the developing and newly industrializing countries. Trends in science and technology and how they affect IPRs. Pros and cons of a uniform international IPRs regime versus a system reflecting national differences.

A comparative analysis of trade secrets enforcement against ex-employees in the EU and USA, aimed at legislators and practitioners.

This, the first casebook in the United States devoted exclusively to trade secret law, is challenging yet user-friendly to students. In order to facilitate understanding of the material, the book is designed to be used by law and business students with no prior background in intellectual property law. Throughout, the authors have made conscious and thoughtful decisions about the way in which the information is presented and organized. The general organization follows a logical analytical approach to understanding trade secret law, with the chapters progressing from proving the essential elements of a trade secret claim to defensive tactics and remedies, managing trade secrets, and criminal actions. It also addresses employment, management, and international issues.

Unlike other forms of intellectual property, trade secrets are considered, in nature, perpetual. Similarly, the corporate form - the firm - is, too, considered, perpetual. Trade secrets, whether they are one part of, or the whole of a firm's intellectual and proprietary knowledge, they are inherent to a firm's sustainability and success - they drive a given firm, specifically in its creation of value. Reflective of this point, there, too, is an inherent importance through which the firm's institutional structure and its accompanying laws, serve, fuel and protects its trade secrets. Hence, in an attempt to truly understand the scope and capacity of trade secrets and its accompanying law, doctrine and precedent, an examination of its relationship to and with the theory of the firm is necessitated.This paper is premised on the perspective that the bodies of law that implicate firms and trade secrets - corporate law, intellectual property and trade secrets - cannot be fully comprehended through separate and singular examinations exclusive of the other. Instead, to fully appreciate the dimensions of each body of law, and the legal spaces they occupy - the firm and its intellectual capital of the trade secrets kind - an examination of this indelible relationship is warranted. This relationship - a tango of codependence, frustration and successes - mirrors the words Witold Rybczynski articulated about the law. He once said, the law is a “very restrained jazz - it involves improvisation [but] this does not mean [] the result is accidental or that there are no rules.” The activities and effects that occur within trade secret and the law are not hermetically sealed from effecting and being affected by the firm, corporate law, theory and governance.Firm make a deliberate and conscious decision in deciding to maintain its intellectual knowledge as a trade secret rather than pursue another form of intellectual property protection. Such decision is reflective of the didactic connection between that firm's structure and various governance mechanisms, agency costs juxtaposed against the backdrop of how relevant its intellectual capital - its trade secrets - are inherent to its competitive advantage, and how aspects of corporate law and regulations, trade secret rights and protections, impact the firm. Therefore, in order to understand the true scope of trade secret law, this paper is aimed at examining this interdependent relationship between the firm and its trade secret.In order to effectively examine this didactic relationship between the firm and its intellectual capital, this paper is organized in two large sections. Part I of this paper examines how the organizational and institutional structure of the firm impacts its intellectual capital of the trade secret variety. Specifically, it will examine how the theory of the firm, agency and monitoring costs, and corporate social responsibility impacts the management of intellectual capital, protects trade secrets and might secure long-term innovation output. This is followed by Part II, that analyzes and examines how the law related to trade secrets and how a firm's trade secrets has the potential to both positively and negatively impact the firm's shareholder wealth and, hence, firm value.

Trade secret protection has long been of critical strategic importance to business interests and globalization of commerce has driven an increasing need to govern the preservation of confidentiality in international business transactions. This book off