The right to the trade secret
A legally protectable trade secret is secret information which is applicable in trade or industry, in respect of which the owner has the will to keep it secret, which has economic value, and which is concrete enough to be embodied in a tangible form and to exist separately form its owner. A comparat...
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Online Access: | Knobel, Johann (1996) The right to the trade secret, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17105> http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17105 |
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ndltd-netd.ac.za-oai-union.ndltd.org-unisa-oai-uir.unisa.ac.za-10500-171052018-11-19T17:14:58Z The right to the trade secret Knobel, Johann Neethling, J. Trade secrets Confidential information Legal protection Private law Contract Delict Intellectual property Subjective rights Unlawful competition Fiduciary relationships 346.48 Trade secrets -- Law and legislation A legally protectable trade secret is secret information which is applicable in trade or industry, in respect of which the owner has the will to keep it secret, which has economic value, and which is concrete enough to be embodied in a tangible form and to exist separately form its owner. A comparative study reveals that while trade secrets can be infringed in three ways - namely unauthorized acquisition, use and disclosure - contemporary legal systems differ in respect of both the ambit and juridical bases of protection against such infringing conduct. The legal protection of trade secrets is promoted by the recognition of a subjective right to the trade secret. This right is an intellectual property right independent of statutory intellectual property rights like patent rights and copyright, the common law intellectual property right to goodwill, and the personality right to privacy. In South African private law, trade secrets can be adequately protected by the application of general delictual and contractual principles. Delictual wrongfulness of trade secret misappropriation is constituted by an infringement of the right to the trade secret. Thus any act that interferes with the powers of use, enjoyment and disposal exercised by someone with a subjective right to that trade secret, is, in the absence of legal grounds justifying such interference, wrongful. Patrim·onial loss caused by both intentional and negligent infringement of trade secrets should be actionable under the actio legis Aquiliae. Wrongful trade secret infringements can - also in the absence of fault on the part of the infringer - be prevented by an interdict. Protection of trade secrets is not restricted to the contexts of either unlawful competition, or fiduciary relationships. Trade secret protection is on a sound footing in South African law, compares favourably with the position in other legal systems, and is in step with the international agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to which South Africa is a signatory nation. Private Law LL.D. (Private Law) 2015-01-23T04:24:53Z 2015-01-23T04:24:53Z 1996-06 Thesis Knobel, Johann (1996) The right to the trade secret, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17105> http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17105 en 1 online resource (xii, 364 leaves) |
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Trade secrets Confidential information Legal protection Private law Contract Delict Intellectual property Subjective rights Unlawful competition Fiduciary relationships 346.48 Trade secrets -- Law and legislation |
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Trade secrets Confidential information Legal protection Private law Contract Delict Intellectual property Subjective rights Unlawful competition Fiduciary relationships 346.48 Trade secrets -- Law and legislation Knobel, Johann The right to the trade secret |
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A legally protectable trade secret is secret information which is applicable in trade or industry, in respect of which the owner has the will to keep it secret, which has economic value, and which is concrete enough to be embodied in a tangible form and to exist separately form its owner. A comparative study reveals that while trade
secrets can be infringed in three ways - namely unauthorized acquisition, use and disclosure - contemporary legal systems differ in respect of both the ambit and juridical bases of protection against such infringing conduct.
The legal protection of trade secrets is promoted by the recognition of a subjective right to the trade secret. This right is an intellectual property right independent of statutory intellectual property rights like patent rights and copyright, the common law intellectual property right to goodwill, and the personality right to privacy. In South African private law, trade secrets can be adequately protected by the application of general delictual and contractual principles. Delictual wrongfulness of trade secret misappropriation is constituted by an infringement of the right to the trade secret. Thus any act that interferes with the powers of use, enjoyment and disposal
exercised by someone with a subjective right to that trade secret, is, in the absence of legal grounds justifying such interference, wrongful. Patrim·onial loss caused by both intentional and negligent infringement of trade secrets should be actionable under the actio legis Aquiliae. Wrongful trade secret infringements can - also in the
absence of fault on the part of the infringer - be prevented by an interdict. Protection of trade secrets is not restricted to the contexts of either unlawful competition, or fiduciary relationships. Trade secret protection is on a sound footing in South African law, compares favourably with the position in other legal systems, and is in step with the international agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to which South Africa is a signatory nation. === Private Law === LL.D. (Private Law) |
author2 |
Neethling, J. |
author_facet |
Neethling, J. Knobel, Johann |
author |
Knobel, Johann |
author_sort |
Knobel, Johann |
title |
The right to the trade secret |
title_short |
The right to the trade secret |
title_full |
The right to the trade secret |
title_fullStr |
The right to the trade secret |
title_full_unstemmed |
The right to the trade secret |
title_sort |
right to the trade secret |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
Knobel, Johann (1996) The right to the trade secret, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17105> http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17105 |
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