Serbia Adopts Trade Secret Law

The Law on Protection of Trade Secrets entered into force in Serbia on October 6, 2011. The Law regulates legal protection of trade secrets against all actions of unfair competition. Before the enactment of this law, trade secrets were regulated by the Law on Business Companies.

Trade secret, according to the new law, is any information that:

• has commercial value because it is not generally known or available to third parties that can gain economic advantage by its use;
• is protected by its holder by appropriate measures in order to preserve its secrecy;
• could harm its holder if disclosed to third parties.

Information marked as confidential in order to conceal a crime, abuse of authority or official position or other unlawful act or practice does not qualify as a trade secret.

According to the new law, the misappropriation of a trade secret, especially its unlawful obtaining, use and disclosure, is a tort and can under certain circumstances be an economic offense.

For more information, please contact Djordje Markovic at our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: The local text of the law