Transposing the Trade Secrets Directive into English Law: The Trade Secrets (Enforcement etc) Regulations
J ane Lambert Art 19 (1) of Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure ("the trade secrets directive") requires each and every member state of the EU (including the UK for the time being) to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with that directive by 9 June 2018. Accordingly, Mr Sam Gyimah MP, Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, has signed The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations SI 2018 No 597 ("the regulations") which will come into force on that day. Overview of the Regulations The regulations so not purport to transpose the whole directive into English law. The statutory instrument consists of 19 regulations most of which relate to time limits, court proc...