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ARTICLE · 01 JUNE 2022

Guide To Trade Secrets In Canada 2022: Trends And Developments

Gowling WLG
Gowling WLG
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Chambers and Partners Trade Secrets 2022 provides the latest legal information on the duration of protection, criminal liability, extraterritoriality, misappropriation, industrial espionage...

CanadaIntellectual Property
Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton
Will Boyer
Will Boyer
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Introduction

In recent years, Canadian trade secret law has been the subject of a number of significant updates. Through common law jurisprudence, extraterritorial injunctions have been issued to address trade secret misappropriation. Also, multimillion-dollar damages have been awarded (including one nine-figure award). Through legislation, Canada's largest province (Ontario) has outlawed non-compete agreements, thus elevating the importance for employers to have robust trade secret protections in place.

Background on trade secret enforcement in Canada

Enforcement of trade secret (or confidential information) rights in Canada is, at the provincial level, through an applicable provincial civil court system. This is in contrast to patent, trade mark and copyright enforcement proceedings, which may be pursued on a national level through the Federal Court of Canada.

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