One of the key changes introduced by the GeschGehG is the enhancement of trade secret protection during court proceedings. Based on Sections 16 and 19 GeschGehG, the court may issue (…) Read more
Saxony Regional Labor Court: Enforcement of a Clean Desk Policy
To protect trade secrets, the holder must take appropriate protective measures, including in the area of work organization. In a recently issued decision, the Saxony Regional Labor Court clarified that (…) Read more
Aachen Labor Court: Reverse Engineering and the end of the GeschGehG
In its decision dated January 13, 2022, the Aachen Labor Court made several problematic statements regarding the German Act on the Protection of Trade Secrets (the Geheimnisblog has analyzed the (…) Read more
Millions in damages for breach of an NDA
Signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is often viewed as a tedious obligation and a mere formality. A recent ruling from Spain demonstrates that no party involved should underestimate the significance (…) Read more
Reverse Engineering and the Burden of Proof in GeschGehG Proceedings
We have previously discussed the particular difficulties of presenting evidence in GeschGehG proceedings in another article (here). An analysis of a decision by the Aachen Labor Court illustrates the objections (…) Read more
Schleswig Higher Regional Court: Updates on reasonable confidentiality measures
A ruling by the Schleswig Higher Regional Court dated April 28, 2022 (Case No. 6 U 39/21) contains some interesting and highly practical insights into the concept of trade secrets (…) Read more
Risks to trade secrets in international discovery proceedings
Unlike under the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO), under U.S. law, parties have extensive opportunities – as part of the so-called “discovery” process – to investigate facts relevant to (…) Read more
Hamburg Labor Court: Cocktail recipe is not a trade secret
In a labor law case, the Hamburg Labor Court ruled that a cocktail recipe did not qualify as a trade secret (decision dated July 1, 2021, Case No. 4 Ca (…) Read more
Federal Court of Justice (BGH): First ruling on the confidentiality order under Sections 16 and 19 of the German Act on the Protection of Trade Secrets (GeschGehG)
With the GeschGehG, the legislature has created new options for maintaining the confidentiality of information during court proceedings. In practice, however, the provisions of Sections 16 et seqq. of the (…) Read more
Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court: A divided concept of confidentiality?
In its decision of September 21, 2021 (Case No. 15 W 6/21, GRUR 2022, 75 – Disclosure of Expert Opinion (not publicly available)), the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court held that (…) Read more