Slovenia to adopt the trade secrets act

The National Assembly shall soon adopt the new Trade Secrets Act, which transposes the EU Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure into the Slovenian law.

This new Act does not define precisely, which information is considered a trade secret. As a result, each company must still adopt internal acts (regulations) to determine which information is considered a trade secret. This will make it easier for the companies to prove the existence of trade secrets when claiming their rights against illegal acquirers.

The purpose of this Act is to regulate the field of trade secrets in a single act, since the material and procedural provisions regarding trade secrets are currently contained in several sectoral laws. In addition to the articles, which make a clearer distinction between the lawful and unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of trade secrets, the draft of this Act regulates in greater detail the judicial protection in the event of violations (the possible claims are specified in detail), as well as the conditions and circumstances for issuing the interim measures. 

Furthermore, the Act also lays down the measure for the protection of trade secrets in court proceedings whereby the parties may request the public to be excluded from the main hearing and to protect the documents. Therefore, since the trade secret is not precisely defined and since those who refer to it must prove its existence, it is important that companies adopt internal acts, determining which information is considered a trade secret.