In 2016, the US signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act and the EU passed the Trade Secrets Directive. Legislators are recognizing the value of trade secrets to their economies and the need to provide legislative frameworks to protect these valuable assets. However, despite these positive steps, trade secret theft knows no jurisdictional boundaries. Trade secrets and those who misappropriate them frequently cross international borders. In the absence of international harmonization or coordination, companies and their lawyers have to navigate a patchwork of substantive and procedural civil and criminal laws, all against a ticking clock.
GEISTWERT attended an interactive session of a top class-panel from Germany, France, US, UK and Australia: Annsley Ward of Bristows LLP (UK), Mark Ridgway, Allen & Overy (UK), Lucas Kenny, NetApp (AU), Linda Lecomte, Wuersch & Gering (US) , Catherine Mateu, Armengaud Guerlain (FR), Justice David Yates, Federal Court of Australia (AU), Presiding Judge Dr. Matthias Zigann, Munich Regional Court I (DE), Mr Justice Richard Arnold, High Court (UK), Mr Justice Henry Carr, High Court (UK), Hon. Jim Kleinberg, JAMS (US), Pamela Passman, CREATe (US), James Pooley (US) advised a New York-based company which has just been the victim of trade secret theft by its Head of R&D. The panel and the audience advised the company of the procedural and substantive tools available to it to try to recover its trade secrets, as the employee traversed the globe.