Trade Secrets on the Blockchain: The Implications of Blockchain for Trade Secret Protection in the Context of IP Law and Practice

Abstract

The emergence of blockchain technology that has gained ever greater speed in recent years has coincided with the general rise of intellectual property rights (IPR) as a crucial determinant of overall commercial business value. In a world where seemingly any industrial manufacturing process can be reverse engineered, blockchain technology can provide IPR holders with security against their rights being stolen or otherwise compromised. Of the various ways that IPR can be created, trade secrets are arguably the least utilised and yet blockchain offers the most attractive protection opportunity. In this thesis, understanding how blockchain can add value to EU trade secrets law is given attention. The EU is a particularly useful jurisdiction for exploring these blockchains – trade secrets interrelationships, given that Union policymakers have drafted blockchain legislation and its Commission has expressed strong public commitments to making the EU a world blockchain technology leader. Chapter One, the study introduction, provides the foundation for a careful assessment of why blockchain has numerous advantages as an IPR; its trade secrets protection mechanism. Chapter Two provides and assessment of the potential advantages and disadvantages of this approach, providing the basis from which Chapter Three can examine trade secrets law theory, while its practical applications is fully considered in Chapter Four. Blockchain evidence admissibility is a key practice issue that must be resolved before trade secrets relationships can be developed to their fullest IPR potential. The trade secrets protection future is looking positive if care is taken by policymakers and legislators everywhere to carefully construct the necessary legal frameworks.