Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property

Unlike patents and copyrights, there is very little in the way of international standards or harmonization in trade secrets law. Nonetheless there is a growing realization that variable rules concerning trade secrets impact investment decisions, structuring of multinational businesses, and hiring policies. There is increasing concern that ineffective trade secrets protection will deter certain kinds of foreign direct investment and place a brake on cross-border trade and commercial agreements. On the other hand, because trade secrets protection tends to militate against labour mobility, freedom to imitate, and open circulation of what needs to be known to compete, it sits at the eye of the competitive storm.