Guide to protecting business secrets in Netherlands

The Netherlands, a small country with a thriving economy, has asserted itself on the global business map. Behind this success is an important factor that cannot be ignored, which is the protection of trade secrets. The protection of trade secrets is an important factor contributing to the success of many companies in the Netherlands. The country has built a system in which intellectual property rights and trade secrets are strictly protected. Viet An Law would like to guide customers on how to protect business secrets in the Netherlands through the article below.

A Preliminary Guide to Business Secrets in the Netherlands

“Business secrets are valuable intangible assets of businesses, kept secret to create competitive advantages. From extensive research, extensive experience to breakthrough ideas, businesses are constantly creating valuable information to improve operational efficiency. Trade secrets can be intangible assets with long-term value such as formulations, chemical compounds, or seasonal information such as market research results, new product launch plans.”

From the above definition, some key ideas can be preliminarily summarized as follows:

• Trade secrets are intangible assets: Affirming that trade secrets are not tangible assets that can be seen and touched, but are the exclusive information and knowledge of the enterprise.
• Create a competitive advantage: Business secrets are a tool that helps businesses differentiate themselves from competitors, creating an advantage in the market.
• Origins of trade secrets: Diverse from research, experience to creativity, it shows that trade secrets can be formed from many different sources.
• Value and nature: Trade secrets have both long-term (formulas, compounds) and short-term (research results, plans) value.

Document guiding the protection of trade secrets in the Netherlands

On June 8, 2016, the European Union passed the Trade Secrets Protection Directive, in order to unify regulations on trade secret protection across the bloc, preventing acts of misappropriation, disclosure and unauthorized use of business information.

This directive provides a uniform definition of trade secrets, in line with international standards. The directive also clearly stipulates acts of appropriation of trade secrets and affirms the right to freedom of research and innovation.

The Directive focuses on civil remedies, providing enterprises with infringed business secrets with rights such as:

• Prevent continued use and disclosure of stolen information.
• Request the removal of a product that was manufactured based on information stolen from the market.
• To be compensated for damage caused by violations.

EU member states must enact laws and regulations to implement this Directive before 9 June 2018.

Conditions for the protection of business secrets in the Netherlands

To be protected by law, your business information must fully meet the following criteria:

• Exclusivity: Information must be proprietary, not publicly available, or easily accessible.
• Commercial value: The value of the information depends on its exclusivity. For example, the process of producing a special paint or a recipe for food and beverage preparations.
• Security measures: You must have appropriate security measures in place to protect the information. For example, storing information in electronic safes, such as the i-DEPOT of the Benelux Intellectual Property Office (BOIP).

Guide to protecting business secrets in Netherlands

To effectively protect your trade secrets, you can take the following measures:

• Enhance physical security: Implement physical protection measures such as installing surveillance camera systems, hiring security guards, and restricting access to areas containing important information.
• Enhanced cybersecurity: Strengthen information security systems by using strong passwords, data encryption, and advanced security tools.
• Use dedicated security tools: Take advantage of secure data storage tools like i-DEPOT to protect business secrets.
• Establish confidentiality agreements: Sign confidentiality agreements with employees, partners, and suppliers to ensure information is not disclosed.
• Awareness-raising: Organize training courses to raise awareness among employees and partners about the importance of protecting trade secrets and related regulations.

About the i-DEPOT system

i-DEPOT is a platform or application designed to store information safely and securely, especially sensitive types of information such as trade secrets. It acts as a kind of “digital safe,” which helps protect your data from unauthorized access.

Key features of i-DEPOT typically include

• Data encryption: Information is encrypted using powerful algorithms to ensure only authorized people can access it.
• Access control: You can set different access rights for each user, ensuring that each person can only view and edit information related to them.
• Secure storage: Data is stored on highly secure servers, which minimizes the risk of data loss due to incidents such as device failures or natural disasters.
• Ease of use: The user interface is often designed to be user-friendly, making it easy to manage and access your data.

Why use i-DEPOT?

• Protect trade secrets: Prevent the leakage of important information to competitors.
• Regulatory compliance: Ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
• Increase productivity: Search and share information quickly and easily.