In a final and enforceable judgment of 12 March 2021
(LF-2020-92904), Frostating Court of Appeal found there to be
unlawful use of trade secrets by a former employee using his
knowledge gained at the employer to develop a competing product.
Lawyers Sigurd Holter Torp and Trond Sollund in Schjødt
represented the employer, and we have commented on the judgment in
a previous newsletter. In the wake of the judgment, there has been
a debate about the judgment and the protection of trade
secrets.
Professor Harald Irgens-Jensen has commented to Teknisk Ukeblad
that the judgment in his opinion takes too little account of the
fact that even employees with advanced technical knowledge should
be able to change jobs and go to a competitor. Professor
Irgens-Jensen is critical of the "sum of knowledge"
concept and its use and believes that it is poorly anchored in the
EU Directive on Trade Secrets. He believes that it should not
simply be for a previous employer to point out that
