FranceCode de commerce, Protection of Trade Secrets (Secret des Affaires), Articles L151-1 to L152-6
Code de commerce, arts. L151-1, L151-4, L151-5, L152-1 to L152-3 and L152-6
In force since .
An unfair competition rule binding public and private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- Do not obtain a trade secret without the consent of its lawful holder through unauthorized access to, or unauthorized appropriation or copying of, any document, object, material, substance or digital file that contains the secret or from which it can be deduced (Article L151-4, point 1).
- Do not obtain a trade secret without its lawful holder's consent through any other conduct that, in the circumstances, is unfair and contrary to commercial practice (Article L151-4, point 2).
- Do not use or disclose a trade secret without its lawful holder's consent where you obtained it in the conditions of Article L151-4 or are bound by an obligation not to disclose it or to limit its use (Article L151-5, paragraph 1).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Articles L151-4 and L151-5 prohibit the unlawful obtaining, use and disclosure of a trade secret. They impose no duty to create, keep, produce or review a log or record.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Information is protected as a trade secret if it is not generally known or readily accessible to persons familiar with that type of information, has commercial value because it is secret, and is subject to reasonable protection measures by its lawful holder (Article L151-1).
Obtaining a trade secret without the consent of its lawful holder is unlawful where it results from unauthorized access to, or unauthorized appropriation or copying of, any document, object, material, substance or digital file that contains the secret or from which it can be deduced (Article L151-4, point 1). Obtaining a trade secret is also unlawful where it results from any other conduct considered, in the circumstances, unfair and contrary to commercial practice (Article L151-4, point 2).
Using or disclosing a trade secret without the consent of its lawful holder is unlawful when done by a person who obtained it in the conditions of Article L151-4 or who acts in breach of an obligation not to disclose it or to limit its use (Article L151-5). Any breach of a trade secret as provided in Articles L151-4 to L151-6 engages the civil liability of its author (Article L152-1).
In an action to prevent or stop a breach of a trade secret, the court may prescribe any proportionate measure, including banning the continuation of acts of use or disclosure and ordering the destruction or surrender of any document, object, material, substance or digital file containing the secret (Article L152-3).
In setting damages, the court considers separately the negative economic consequences of the breach, the moral harm to the injured party and the profits made by the author of the breach, and on request may instead award a lump sum that takes account of the rights that would have been due had the author asked for authorization to use the secret (Article L152-6).
Actions relating to a breach of a trade secret are time-barred after five years from the day the lawful holder knew or should have known of the last fact that caused the breach (Article L152-2).
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