The problem with trade secret and its overprotection

• Main Author: LIU, Kung-chung
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2021
• Subjects: criminalization; ex parte seizure; secretive process; trade secret preservation order; investigation confidentiality protective order; Asian Studies; International Trade Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4073; https://search.library.smu.edu.sg/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma99517041802601&context=L&vid=65SMU_INST:SMU_NUI&lang=en&search_scope=Everything&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Trade%20Secret%20Protection:%20Asia%20at%20a%20Crossroads&offset=0
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Whether trade secret protection belongs to the IP family is already questionable. The over-protection of trade secrets in forms of sweeping criminalization, ex parte seizure, secretive process, trade secret preservation order, and investigation confidentiality protective order can have serious side effects on transparency and accountability which are the bedrock of democracy, and trade-off with patent system that encourages disclosure.