Congress approves the Trade Secrets Draft Bill

On December 20, 2018, the approval of the Trade Secrets Draft Bill by the Justice Commission was published in the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament. This draft bill does not differ in substance from the one already considered in this blog.

This bill transposes Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure, directly applicable to Member States since its entry into force in July 2016.

The Directive harmonized the protection of know-how and undisclosed business information (trade secrets) of companies and European bodies and improved the conditions for the development and exploitation of innovation and knowledge transfer in the internal market.

Until the entry into force of the Directive, trade secrets were not clearly defined or regulated, despite their commercial importance. In the absence of specific regulations, trade secrets in Spain were governed by article 13 of Act 3/1991 on Unfair Competition. Although they are still classified as unfair competition, actions regarding trade secrets will be expressly regulated by the future Trade Secrets Act.

The draft bill has been approved by full legislative authority in Congress and is currently pending referral to the Senate, which must process it within 20 days from that date under the urgent procedure.

If, as expected, the Senate does not introduce any amendment, the text will be submitted directly to the King for its promulgation and publication in the Official Gazette of the State. 20 days after its publication, the Trade Secrets Act will enter into force, thus fulfilling the obligation to transpose the Directive.

By Alicia Costas