On April 26, the Geschäftsgeheimnisgesetz (Trade Secrets Act, “Act”) came into effect. It took Germany over a year from the implementation deadline to transpose the Trade Secrets Directive (“Directive”) into national law. The Act replaces the provisions of the Unfair Competition Act on misappropriation of trade secrets and introduces new procedural rules for trade secret litigation. It applies to any company doing business in Germany, no matter the size or the industry sector. The Act came into effect without a transitional period. Therefore, companies need to take appropriate steps now – if not, their trade secrets will lose protection.
To read more on the new Act, click here.