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ARTICLE · 11 MARCH 2021

2020 End-Of-Year Review: Key Global Trade Secret Developments

Jones Day
Jones Day
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A trade secret is any information used in one's business that derives independent economic value from being kept secret. Unlike patents, trade secrets are protected indefinitely for as long as they remain a secret.

GlobalIntellectual Property
Randy Kay
Randy Kay
Chiang Ling Li
Chiang Ling Li
Jonathan M. Linas
Jonathan M. Linas
Georg Mikes
Georg Mikes
John Marlott
John Marlott
Kelsey Nix
Kelsey Nix
Cheryl O'Connor
Cheryl O'Connor
Emily J. Tait
Emily J. Tait
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A trade secret is any information used in one's business that derives independent economic value from being kept secret. Unlike patents, trade secrets are protected indefinitely for as long as they remain a secret. In the United States, the enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act ("DTSA") in 2016 has made trade secrets an increasingly attractive form of intellectual property for businesses hoping to protect their innovations. And in other jurisdictions, developments such as Germany's Company Secret Act and China's Anti-Unfair Competition Law are similarly refining trade secret laws.

This White Paper summarizes and explains recent noteworthy decisions in trade secret law and updates around the world in the second half of 2020. Each of these decisions has meaningful implications for trade secret owners, defendants and practitioners alike.

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