Worldwide: Trade Secrets

Germany's Federal Cabinet has approved a draft bill modernizing the country's product liability framework for the first time since 1989, expanding liability to cover software and AI systems while introducing new evidentiary rules that shift the burden of proof toward manufacturers. The reform extends potential liability to a broader range of economic operators, including online marketplace providers and fulfillment service providers, while establishing extensive disclosure obligations for defendants in prod

When key employees with access to proprietary technology and trade secrets depart for competitors, employers face significant risks of confidential information misappropriation. The recent case of Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd v Ngoma demonstrates how imaging orders can preserve critical evidence from devices and cloud accounts, while also revealing the careful balance courts strike between protecting legitimate business interests and respecting employee rights during the disclosure process.

Patents are of pivotal importance for protecting innovations throughout the quantum industry. When it comes to technology, three areas stand out as particularly significant. Quantum computing encompasses the development of hardware, software, and algorithms that harness quantum mechanical phenomena to perform calculations beyond the reach of classical computers. Quantum communication covers technologies that use quantum principles, most notably quantum key distribution to transmit information with a level of security that classical encryption cannot match.

With the explosion of AI and machine learning in the MedTech and Digital Health sectors, trade secrets are becoming an increasingly valuable tool to complement patents in protecting companies’ intellectual property (“IP”). While patents remain central to protecting core technological innovations, trade secrets offer distinct and different advantages that make them particularly well suited for protecting certain types of MedTech and Digital Health assets.

A marketing manager uploads a client list to ChatGPT to segment the database. An HR specialist uses AI to summarize candidate CVs. A finance team member tasks generative AI with drafting a quarterly presentation.

The "Draft Law on the Protection of Trade Secrets" ("Draft Law") has been published on the official website of the Ministry of Trade of Türkiye.

Biochar has rapidly shifted from a niche soil amendment to a key climate technology, with Europe expanding from 20 production plants in 2015 to more than 200 by 2024 as demand...

Two terms frequently used in this context are intellectual property rights and intellectual capital but what is the difference between...

In this episode, Marks & Clerk's Anis Naidu is joined by two of the North West's most experienced voices in early-stage investment and innovation: Dr. Andy Round, Senior Investment Director...