The increasing threat to trade secrets is enough to make Colonel Sanders roll over in his grave. The risks arise from many sources. Key employees are highly mobile. Globalization of trade facilitates transient research and commercial partnerships. Hackers are still making headlines. If a company is not prepared, the secret may be downloaded at the click of a button by the employee sitting next to you or by a drop-out in his mom’s basement on the other side of the world. Recent years have seen increasing enforcement, as well as demand for stronger legislation to ensure businesses have the means to protect their confidential information and preserve competitive gains. The TIPG is pleased to host Noel Courage, who will present on the latest developments in trade secrets in North America and Europe. Topics include the US Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, the EU Trade Secrets Directive and a comparison to the Canadian approach.
Noel Courage is a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP and member of the Life Sciences and Mechanical practice groups. Noel's practice focuses on patenting and licensing of inventions. He also advises companies on trade secret protection.
Noel has lectured on IP licensing at the Patents and Trade Secrets course at the University of Toronto since 2011. He published an article on “Protecting Trade Secrets in Canada” in the US journal, Cold Spring Harbour Perspectives in Medicine. He has also written on trade secrets in Canadian Lawyer. He is authoring a chapter on trade secrets for an upcoming LexisNexis book on IP. He is a member of the American IP Law Association Trade Secrets Committee and Chair of the Association’s Biotechnology Subcommittee on Trade Secrets.