Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: The Law Commission has recommended a legislation to protect trade secrets with a provision to protect whistle-blowers, asserting that law cannot permit use of nondisclosure agreements to discourage reporting on illegal activities.
In its report on ‘Trade Secrets and Economic Espionage’ submitted to the Government recently, the panel also said the issue of economic espionage should be dealt with separately through a different legislation.
In his covering letter to Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Law Commission Chairman Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi said the commission is of the considered view that a ‘sui generis’ (unique) legislation should be introduced to protect trade secrets with exceptions pertaining to whistle-blower protection, compulsory licensing and government use, and public interest.
Economic espionage
The panel also shared a draft ‘The Protection of Trade Secrets Bill, 2024’. “With regard to the issue of economic espionage, it is pertinent to note that it typicality involves a foreign State as a party, whereas commercial espionage is between two commercial entities. Therefore, the commission is of the considered opinion that the issue of economic espionage should be dealt with separately through a different legislation,” Justice Awasthi said.
With respect to the conceptual issue of whether trade secrets should be treated as “property” or not, the commission said it is of the considered view that “trade secrets” cannot have a “property-like” conception such as in the case of other intellectual property. Referring to the definition of “trade secret”, the proposed law must provide a broad definition that allows rooms for judicial interpretation so that emerging aspects and industries may also fit within the framework of Indian law, it said.
