Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Zürich.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-167). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Information and data are essentially the basic ingredients for the formulation of informed judgments and the making of rational decisions. In recent years, the inadequacy of business information and data available to the various segments of the economy has led them to advocate that business enterprises should disclose all their relevant and material information fully and comprehensively. Seldom, however, have they, who are outside the corporate management, given adequate consideration to the role that secrecy of business information can play in enabling competition among rival business enterprises. In this thesis, it is suggested that secrecy of some information, not full disclosure, is necessary if business enterprises are to be competitive against rivals. This study has found that the business enterprises interviewed in the field study are strongly opposed to disclosing fully and comprehensively all their information. In the views of some of the executives who are in the selected enterprises, secrecy of certain information is required not only in the maintenance of the competitive positions of their enterprises, but also as a necessary part of their competitive weaponry against rivals. Secrecy is also desired in the interests of their enterprises. Apparently, therefore, the exigencies of the various segments of the economy for business information and data cannot be met by voluntary full disclosure of information by business enterprises; certainly it is not attainable without opposition from the business community. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

This thesis is as an attempt to overview the forms of trade secret protection presently in place in the United States, Canada, the European Union and Romania. These jurisdictions were selected because they present a diversity of legal background and a variety of forms of trade secret protection. / The introductory chapter deals with the historical and economic backgrounds of the trade secret protection. An overview of trade secret protection at international scale is also provided. The thesis compares the forms of trade secret protection available in each jurisdiction. Based on the survey, the thesis comes to an answer of the question of "What is the most appropriate form of trade secrets protection?". / The final chapter provides a number of conclusions and recommendations.

Issued also as thesis, Basel. / Bibliography: p. 7-12.

Issued also as thesis, Basel. / Bibliography: p. 7-12.

No description available.

In this thesis, we present a novel approach for the preservation of trade secrets in a Business-to-Business (B2B) environment that involves trade among competitors. The Web provides a low cost medium for B2B collaborations. Information exchange may take place during such a collaboration. The exchanged information may be of a sensitive nature, forming a business trade secret. The open nature of the Web calls for techniques to prevent the disclosure of trade secrets. The emerging Semantic Web is expected to make the challenge more acute in terms of trade secret protection due to the automation of B2B interactions. In this thesis, the different businesses are represented by Web services on the envisioned Semantic Web. We propose a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) approach for preserving trade secrets in B2B interactions. We introduce a set of techniques based on data perturbation for preserving data privacy. The techniques presented in our thesis are implemented in WebBIS, a prototype for accessing e-business Web services. Finally, we conduct an extensive performance study (analytical and experimental) of the proposed techniques. / Master of Science

This thesis reports on the economic analysis of trade secrets via data collected from prosecutions under the U.S. Economic Espionage Act (EEA.) Ratified in 1996, the EEA increases protection for trade secrets by criminalizing the theft of trade secrets. The empirical basis of the thesis is a unique database constructed using EEA prosecutions from 1996 to 2008. A critical and empirical analysis of these cases provides insight into the use of trade secrets. The increase in the criminal culpability of trade secret theft has important impacts on the use of trade secrets and the incentives for would-be thieves. A statistical analysis of the EEA data suggest that trade secrets are used primarily in manufacturing and construction. A cluster analysis suggests three broad categories of EEA cases based on the type of trade secret and the sector of the owner. A series of illustrative case studies demonstrates these clusters. A critical analysis of the damages valuations methods in trade secrets cases demonstrates the highly variable estimates of trade secrets. Given the criminal context of EEA cases, these valuation methods play an important role in sentencing and affect the incentives of the owners of trade secrets. The analysis of the lognormal distribution of the observed values is furthered by a statistical analysis of the EEA valuations, which suggests that the methods can result in very different estimates for the same trade secret. A regression analysis examines the determinants of trade secret intensity at the firm level. This econometric analysis suggests that trade secret intensity is negatively related to firm size. Collectively, this thesis presents an empirical analysis of trade secrets.

A legally protectable trade secret is secret information which is applicable in trade or industry, in respect of which the owner has the will to keep it secret, which has economic value, and which is concrete enough to be embodied in a tangible form and to exist separately form its owner. A comparative study reveals that while trade secrets can be infringed in three ways - namely unauthorized acquisition, use and disclosure - contemporary legal systems differ in respect of both the ambit and juridical bases of protection against such infringing conduct. The legal protection of trade secrets is promoted by the recognition of a subjective right to the trade secret. This right is an intellectual property right independent of statutory intellectual property rights like patent rights and copyright, the common law intellectual property right to goodwill, and the personality right to privacy. In South African private law, trade secrets can be adequately protected by the application of general delictual and contractual principles. Delictual wrongfulness of trade secret misappropriation is constituted by an infringement of the right to the trade secret. Thus any act that interferes with the powers of use, enjoyment and disposal exercised by someone with a subjective right to that trade secret, is, in the absence of legal grounds justifying such interference, wrongful. Patrim·onial loss caused by both intentional and negligent infringement of trade secrets should be actionable under the actio legis Aquiliae. Wrongful trade secret infringements can - also in the absence of fault on the part of the infringer - be prevented by an interdict. Protection of trade secrets is not restricted to the contexts of either unlawful competition, or fiduciary relationships. Trade secret protection is on a sound footing in South African law, compares favourably with the position in other legal systems, and is in step with the international agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to which South Africa is a signatory nation. / Private Law / LL.D. (Private Law)