Moldovan Parliament passed in the second reading the Law on the Protection of Commercial Secrets, a premiere for our country.
Its approval is explained by the need to harmonize the national legislation with that of the European Union. The draft law transposes the provisions of the European Directive on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against illegal acquisition, use and disclosure. The draft law combines both substantive legal and procedural rules, ensuring convergence with international instruments in the field of intellectual property. The document standardizes the terminology used, which will allow to exclude ambiguous interpretation of the applied norms, gives interpretation of the concepts of "trade secret", "trade secret owner", "infringer", "infringing goods". The law establishes the limits of application of the regulatory framework and regulates the procedure for acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets, as well as the rights of trade secret owners. It distinguishes between unlawful and lawful actions that lead to the acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets. The bill enshrines the rights of trade secret holders, defines additional measures to protect trade secrets and interventions to counteract the illegal use of trade secrets. According to the bill, a 6-year statute of limitations will apply to actions aimed at protecting trade secrets. Violation of the rules for protection of trade secrets will entail, among other things, criminal liability. The law shifts the liability established in the Civil Code for unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of trade secrets. In order to strengthen the regulatory framework in the field of protection of trade secrets from their illegal acquisition, use or disclosure, taking into account the fact that information constituting a trade secret is a valuable competitive tool, through this bill it is proposed to establish legal norms that provide right holders with full legal status, as well as the necessary tools and levers that they can use to obtain appropriate protection of stored economic information. The Bill will take effect in 2 months from the date of its publication in Monitorul Oficial (the Official Journal of Moldova). Currently, the legal regime for the protection of trade secrets is regulated by the Civil Code. The legislative initiative belongs to the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI). // 08.12.2023 – InfoMarket
