Introduction

Today’s blog post is the second blog post in a series focusing on European trade secret law issues and trends. As announced, we will address practical questions and offer insights into how Belgian courts interpret and apply various aspects of the Belgian Trade Secrets Act[1], particularly as it relates to requirements for trade secret protection.

Under the Trade Secrets Act, any information which (1) is secret; (2) has commercial value because it is secret; and (3) has been subject to reasonable steps to keep it secret can qualify as a trade secret.[2] Belgian courts have recently provided significant clarifications regarding these requirements. This blog posts aims to distill these developments, focusing on the conditions under which information is deemed secret and possesses commercial value.