Katzarov’´s Manual on Industrial Property

There is no specific law for protecting trade secrets. There are, however, various statutes which protect against the disclosure of confidential information through imposing an obligation of confidence.

Membership in International Conventions

– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since October 10, 1925.
– WTO's TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.

Protection

Definition: there is no legal definition of trade secret in Australia; trade secrets are generally understood to refer to confidential information that confers a competitive advantage.

Criteria for enforcement: there must be a confidentiality agreement between the parties.

Assignment - licensing: possible, provided that this is associated with rights in relevant documents that contain the trade secrets and there are terms requiring required levels of confidentiality.

Remedies for misappropriation: action for breach of confidentiality is possible at common law.