Store Trade Secrets in Germany

In the context of increasingly fierce global competition, businesses in Germany are facing the risk of losing trade secrets worth billions of euros every year. According to a recent study, the theft of trade secrets has become one of the most common forms of unfair competition. This not only hurts affected businesses but also weakens the competitiveness of the German economy in the international arena. Therefore, the effective protection of trade secrets is an urgent issue that requires the attention of both businesses, state management agencies and the whole society. In that situation, the effective protection of trade secrets has become an urgent issue, requiring the attention of all stakeholders, from businesses, state management agencies to the whole society. Every business needs to raise awareness of the importance of trade secrets and invest in appropriate safeguards. State agencies need to improve the legal framework, strengthen inspection, examination and strictly handle violations. Viet An Law would like to guide customers on how to protect trade secrets in Germany through the article below.

Legal Basis

• Law on Protection of Trade Secrets 2019.

Why Store Trade secrets in Germany

Protecting Competitive Advantage

• Information monopoly: Trade secrets are valuable intangible assets, helping businesses create a competitive advantage over competitors.
• Prevent unfair competition: The protection of trade secrets helps prevent unfair competition practices such as copying and stealing ideas.

Investment Protection

• Protecting research results: Trade secrets are often the result of a costly research and development process. Protecting it helps businesses recover their investment and generate profits.
• Encourage innovation: When businesses know that their trade secrets are protected, they will be motivated to invest in research and development of new products and services.

Legal Compliance

• Avoid violating the law: Failure to protect trade secrets can lead to violations of data protection regulations, unfair competition, and other provisions of German law.
• Avoid legal risks: Being litigated for trade secret infringement can cause serious financial and reputational damage to the business.

Build credibility

• Creating a professional image: The protection of trade secrets demonstrates professionalism and commitment to protecting the interests of customers and partners.
• Increased trust: Customers and partners will have more trust in the business knowing that their information is secure.

The concept of trade secrets in Germany

“Trade secret” means information:

• Not public: Not widely known in the community involved, especially for its detailed structure and how it combines elements.
• Valuable: Provides economic advantages to the owner.
• Protected: The owner has taken the necessary measures to keep this information confidential.
• Important: It is in the owner’s legitimate interest to keep this information confidential.

Violations of storing trade secrets in Germany

The collection of trade secrets by unauthorized access, appropriation or illegal copying of electronic documents, items or data in the possession of the owner of the trade secret, or by any act contrary to the principles of fair competition is prohibited.

The use or disclosure of trade secrets is illegal in the following cases:

• When trade secrets are collected by the above-mentioned violations.
• When the owner of a trade secret breaches the confidentiality obligation.
• When the owner knew or should have known that they had received a trade secret from a third party in violation of the law.

Exceptions to the breach of trade secret protection

The collection, use or disclosure of trade secrets will not be considered an infringement if the act is aimed at protecting a legitimate interest, namely:

• Exercise of freedom of expression and information: This includes the protection of freedom of the press and diversity of information.
• Exposing misconduct: When the purpose is to protect the common good of the community.
• Disclosure of information within the company: When employees disclose information to their representatives in order to perform the representative function.

Fundamentals of Keeping Trade secret Records in Germany

Clearly define trade secrets

• List confidential information in detail, including recipes, designs, business plans, customer lists, suppliers, etc.
• Categorize information by importance and sensitivity.

Security of personal data

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliance: Processing personal data in a lawful, transparent, and purposeful manner.
• Data Security: Put in place technical and organizational measures to protect data from loss, unauthorized access, disclosure, or alteration

Trade Secret Protection

• Security contracts: Sign confidentiality contracts with employees, partners, and suppliers.
• Internal regulations: Promulgate internal regulations on information security and information processing processes.
• Secure Storage System: Use a secure storage system, including physical storage and electronic storage.
• Data encryption: Encrypt sensitive data to prevent unauthorized access.

Record Keeping

• Archiving time: Archive records for the necessary time according to the provisions of law and the requirements of the enterprise.
• Destroy records: Safely destroy records when the storage period expires or is no longer valid.