Trade secrets

Abstract

Trade secrets occupy an important and prominent place among industrial property issues, as they have become one of the most important intangible assets of industrial and commercial companies. They provide these companies with a competitive advantage in both local and global markets due to the valuable information they contain. It is therefore necessary for the legislator to protect the owners of trade secrets from any infringement of this information, which they wish to keep confidential.

Although the Algerian legislator has introduced, repealed and replaced many provisions relating to industrial property rights as part of the adaptation of the Algerian legal system to protect intellectual property in line with its accession to the World Trade Organisation and the TRIPS Agreement, trade secrets have not been subject to comprehensive legal regulation.

In the absence of a comprehensive legal regime for the protection of trade secrets, as opposed to the patent system or other industrial property systems in Algerian legislation, we raise the following question How can trade secrets be protected under Algerian law? Are general rules sufficient to protect trade secrets or is specific regulation required?