On January 1, 2022, the Regulation on Judicial Jurisdiction in trade secret disputes will take effect in North Rhine-Westphalia (see the full text here). With this regulation, the state legislature (…) Read more
Posts in Category ‘Procedural law’
Risk of a violation of the trade secrets act following an employee’s change of employer – is the “Clean Team” a solution?
A common trigger for the German Act on the Protection of Trade Secret (GeschGehG) proceedings is an employee’s move to a new employer. Not only the – impermissible – removal (…) Read more
Presenting evidence in a GeschGehG-Trial (German Act on the Protection of Trade Secret)
If, after an employee leaves the company, the employee’s new employer – or even a company newly founded by that former employee – brings a competing product to market, there (…) Read more
Gathering evidence by accessing employees’ email accounts
It’s a typical scenario: A former employee starts their own business or goes to work for a competitor. There is some evidence to suggest that the employee used trade secrets (…) Read more
Trade secret despite publication in a YouTube video?
Under the German Act on the Protection of Trade Secret (GeschGehG), only information that is not generally known or readily accessible can constitute a trade secret. This requirement roughly corresponds (…) Read more
Inspection procedure under the German trade secret Act (GeschGehG)
When the GeschGehG was enacted, the legislature did not provide for the collection of additional information in cases where the use of trade secrets was suspected. Nevertheless, the inspection procedure (…) Read more
Frankfurt Higher Regional Court: Urgency and specificity in proceedings under the German Act on the Protection of Trade Secret (GeschGehG)
A request for an injunction is considered urgent even if the company does not monitor data flows. In addition, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court reiterates the correct wording of the (…) Read more