A Secret Is Not for Ever: Court of Milan, Ⅺ Criminal Division, Decision No.12818, 26 November 2019

摘要

In this criminal case of first instance, the Court of Milan overturned the past case law and applied some of the principles related to the Trade Secrets Directive into a criminal proceeding, stating that trade secrets do not have an absolute character and are not everlasting. The trade secrets holder has to prove that certain (identified) information is confidential, has an economic value, and that measures to keep the information confidential have been implemented. Moreover, employees cannot be limited in using their knowledge.