The Supreme Court will explain what constitutes a trade secret

Two entrepreneurs signed a licensing agreement, under which one agreed to transfer the know-how for organizing a webcam studio to the other. The know-how includes a plan for starting a studio, instructions on choosing a room, a list of equipment needed, a list of software, a description of the requirements for a model, methods and techniques for providing services, and more.

After receiving the information, the license buyer discovered that this information was freely available on the Internet and demanded a refund. But the arbitration courts rejected the claim, deciding that the production secret may not be the result of creative activity and is only a generalization of information based on professional experience. 

Disagreeing with this, the plaintiff filed a complaint with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The meeting of the Economic Board is scheduled for June 24.

The key question is what exactly relates to the production secret. "Simply put, a production secret implies not only novelty, which ensures higher efficiency compared to other technologies, but also the lack of free access to it from third parties, that is, this information is not publicly available," says Sergey Zuykov, patent attorney and managing partner of Zuykov and partners.

Lawyers offer differing predictions about the outcome of the case before the Supreme Court, with some arguing that the decision will depend on whether the legal formalism prevails or whether the courts will need to balance the commercial value of information against its confidentiality.

Source: Kommersant