Εμπορικά απόρρητα : οικονομική σημασία και σύγχρονα ζητήματα νομικής προστασίας
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Keywords
Εμπορικά απόρρητα ; Trade secrets ; Law and economics ; Corporate law ; Εταιρικό δίκαιο ; Εμπορικό δίκαιο ; Commercial law ; Οικονομική ανάλυση δικαίου ; ΑνταγωνισμόςAbstract
The concept of "trade secrets", despite the indisputable economic importance that the latter have for their lawful owner, but also for the society as a whole, as they consist, by general admission, an aid to the development of innovative actions and know-how, is a largely unexplored field in – at least Greek – bibliography and jurisprudence. The present thesis was drawn up in the context of the interdepartmental "Law and Economics" postgraduate program of the University of Piraeus, it is entitled "Trade Secrets: Economic Importance and Contemporary Issues of Legal Protection" and it attempts to take a step towards filling the above identified gap. Firstly, it deals with the concept of "information", namely the dominant element of the post-industrial era that we are currently going through and examines it briefly from the point of view of legal science. It then guides the reader through a first contact with concepts such as the "information society" and the "knowledge economy", while at the same time presenting some aspects of the global phenomenon of "industrial espionage". Then, it defines the concept of "trade secret", it searches for testable and representative legal definitions for the concept in question, it analyzes its legal nature and compares it with related legal concepts. In addition, it presents some findings of the American school of legal thought, popularly known as the "economic analysis of law", regarding the issue of trade secret protection and its distinction from the protection afforded by patent law. In addition, the topic of the reasons for protection and the persons obliged to respect trade secrets is presented in detail, while at the same time the grid of legislative provisions and selected European and Greek court decisions regarding the civil and criminal legal protection of said secrets are presented. Finally, the contractual protection reserved in the transactional practice for trade secrets is mentioned and after a brief reference to indicative cases of "bending" of the confidentiality character and the consequent limitation of the protection of trade secrets, the present thesis is closing with a critical overview of the aforementioned, while formulating certain conclusions and directs the reader's gaze to the future of the protection of trade secrets, in the context of the Greek legal order.