The need to maintain business confidential information within the company are increasing in today’s knowledge-based society. Today, trade secrets are an asset for entrepreneurs and important for competitiveness. These secrets are sometimes provided to the employees and the more secrets spread, the more vulnerable the employer becomes. To prevent trade secrets from being disclosed there is a law about confidential information and competition clauses could be entered in the employment contracts. Nevertheless, the need to protect confidential information must be compared to the right of workers to freely use their skills. This paper aims to highlight the legal situation and the legal balance between both parts within the law of confidential information and competition clauses on the basis of a legal science method. It also aims to highlight the use of non-compete agreements from a gender perspective. The purpose of the paper has led to the following research questions; How can the legal framework of trade secrets and compete clauses be understood from an employer and employee perspective and what are the consequences of it? From a gender perspective, what consequences does the balance between the employer’s need to protect confidential information and the employees’ need to be competitive on the labor market after an employment have? The paper shows that there are weaknesses in the law of confidential information through the employer’s perspective and the law does not stall the employees’ competitiveness. The non-compete agreements however, may jeopardize the movement of the employees and are often seen as unfair in Swedish court. However, the problem is that the freedom of enter contracts prevails and the agreements are valid until an arbitration or court shows otherwise. The study indicates that it is mostly men that are subject to compete clauses, which can lead to improvement of women’s position in the labor market.

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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)

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)

Confidential information such as passwords, cryptographic keys, certificates, etc. are used every day on various places. Mobile phone can be a good storage for such informations, but is necessary to ensure data security. Main goal of this project is to create a program for Windows Mobile phones which will keep all the informations in one place protected by password. Designed program lets user to store passwords, cryptographic keys, various files, important contacts, credit card numbers, etc. Some of the stored informations can be downloaded from remote server via FTP protocol or from smart card. It is also possible that two clients will synchronize their informations via Network and other usefull functions.

South African company law is currently the object of comprehensive review. One o f the areas under scrutiny is that of corporate governance. Control over management is vital in the interests of the company itself, its shareholders and its creditors. Effective accountability should be balanced against the need to allow those who manage a certain measure of freedom and discretion in the exercise of their function. Company directors are subject to various duties. This thesis concentrates on their fiduciary obligation. It is suggested that this sui generis obligation is owed to the company as a separate entity. Interests of other groups may sometimes merit con­ sideration. Against the background o f a com parative investigation, a "corporate opportunity" is defined as any property or economic opportunity to which the com­ pany has a claim. South African law protects a company’s claim to an opportunity if it is in the company’s line of business and if the company has justifiably been relying upon the director(s) to acquire it or to assist in its acquisition for the company. The application of established fiduciary principles suffice to resolve corporate opportunity matters. Essentially the application o f these rules amount to a determination whether the director has complied with his fundamental duty to act in the company’s best interests. There seems to be no need for a separate doctrine of corporate opportunities.' A director should only be absolved from liability on account of the company’s inability to pursue an opportunity or its rejection by the company if there was no real conflict of interest. The appropriation of corporate opportunities should not be ratifiable, both because the ratification constitutes a fraud on the minority, and because the decision to ratify cannot be regarded as being in the interests of the company. The relationship between the appropriation of corporate opportunities, misuse of confidential information and competition is investigated. These aspects fre­ quently overlap, but should be distinguished because their bases, and accordingly their appropriate remedies, may differ. Effective control may benefit by a restatement of directors’ fiduciary duties in the Companies Act. To this end certain amendments to the Act are recommended. / Mercantile Law / LLD

There exists, at this time, surprisingly little historiography on how civil liberties were shaped and developed in practice throughout Canadian history. An examination of the 1946 Royal Commission on Espionage offers several insights into the nature of the immediate post-World War Two civil liberties movement. The commission was formed in response to the defection of a Russian cipher clerk, Igor Gouzenko, in late 1945. The commission investigated the existence of a Russian-led spy ring that had recruited several Canadian civil servants into disclosing secret information. The commission is unique in Canadian history; dominantly due to the fact that it was empowered under the War Measures Act which granted it enormous powers. Everything from a citizen's right to counsel, habeas corpus, protection from state coercion and the right to a fair trial were circumvented. This work attempts to offer a few answers to some important questions about Canadian civil liberties. What were to consequences of the commission's actions? Does Canadian society accept the need to allow a government to violate individual liberties to protect the integrity of the state? Furthermore, the following article will examine the nature of the civil liberties movement following WWII, including the role of the media and civil liberties' organizations in increasing awareness of the vulnerability of individual rights from state abuse. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the enormous potential in which Parliament could act independently in re-defining Canadians' civil liberties while at the same time demonstrating the central role the Royal Commission on Espionage played in stimulating the post-WWII civil liberties movement. The Royal Commission on Espionage is only one black spot in the history of Canadian civil liberties but there remain many questions to be asked about Canadians' willingness to trust and accept that dictates of the state.

South African company law is currently the object of comprehensive review. One o f the areas under scrutiny is that of corporate governance. Control over management is vital in the interests of the company itself, its shareholders and its creditors. Effective accountability should be balanced against the need to allow those who manage a certain measure of freedom and discretion in the exercise of their function. Company directors are subject to various duties. This thesis concentrates on their fiduciary obligation. It is suggested that this sui generis obligation is owed to the company as a separate entity. Interests of other groups may sometimes merit con­ sideration. Against the background o f a com parative investigation, a "corporate opportunity" is defined as any property or economic opportunity to which the com­ pany has a claim. South African law protects a company’s claim to an opportunity if it is in the company’s line of business and if the company has justifiably been relying upon the director(s) to acquire it or to assist in its acquisition for the company. The application of established fiduciary principles suffice to resolve corporate opportunity matters. Essentially the application o f these rules amount to a determination whether the director has complied with his fundamental duty to act in the company’s best interests. There seems to be no need for a separate doctrine of corporate opportunities.' A director should only be absolved from liability on account of the company’s inability to pursue an opportunity or its rejection by the company if there was no real conflict of interest. The appropriation of corporate opportunities should not be ratifiable, both because the ratification constitutes a fraud on the minority, and because the decision to ratify cannot be regarded as being in the interests of the company. The relationship between the appropriation of corporate opportunities, misuse of confidential information and competition is investigated. These aspects fre­ quently overlap, but should be distinguished because their bases, and accordingly their appropriate remedies, may differ. Effective control may benefit by a restatement of directors’ fiduciary duties in the Companies Act. To this end certain amendments to the Act are recommended. / Mercantile Law / LLD

There exists, at this time, surprisingly little historiography on how civil liberties were shaped and developed in practice throughout Canadian history. An examination of the 1946 Royal Commission on Espionage offers several insights into the nature of the immediate post-World War Two civil liberties movement. The commission was formed in response to the defection of a Russian cipher clerk, Igor Gouzenko, in late 1945. The commission investigated the existence of a Russian-led spy ring that had recruited several Canadian civil servants into disclosing secret information. The commission is unique in Canadian history; dominantly due to the fact that it was empowered under the War Measures Act which granted it enormous powers. Everything from a citizen's right to counsel, habeas corpus, protection from state coercion and the right to a fair trial were circumvented. This work attempts to offer a few answers to some important questions about Canadian civil liberties. What were to consequences of the commission's actions? Does Canadian society accept the need to allow a government to violate individual liberties to protect the integrity of the state? Furthermore, the following article will examine the nature of the civil liberties movement following WWII, including the role of the media and civil liberties' organizations in increasing awareness of the vulnerability of individual rights from state abuse. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the enormous potential in which Parliament could act independently in re-defining Canadians' civil liberties while at the same time demonstrating the central role the Royal Commission on Espionage played in stimulating the post-WWII civil liberties movement. The Royal Commission on Espionage is only one black spot in the history of Canadian civil liberties but there remain many questions to be asked about Canadians' willingness to trust and accept that dictates of the state. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

La protection juridique des idées générées par les entreprises au Canada ne répond que partiellement à leurs besoins et préoccupations. Ces idées qui se traduisent en des informations confidentielles ou des secrets commerciaux représentent une valeur économique considérable et croissante pour de nombreuses entreprises. C’est en l’absence d’une législation uniforme portant sur les secrets commerciaux en droit civil au Québec et en common law dans les autres provinces au Canada que sont créés des défis juridiques pour les entreprises. Une réponse conventionnelle à de tels défis consiste à prôner des réformes statutaires afin de renforcer le droit applicable relativement aux secrets commerciaux et leur protection. C’est précisément la solution qui a été retenue aux États-Unis avec l’adoption de législation portant sur les secrets commerciaux, telles que le Uniform Trade Secrets Act et le Defend Trade Secrets Act. L’entrée en vigueur au Canada de l’Accord Canada-États-Unis-Mexique a donné lieu à l’adoption de nouvelles dispositions criminelles, qui est en soi, une première étape vers la codification plus élargie de la protection juridique des secrets commerciaux. Ce mémoire porte, dans un premier temps, sur les notions d’informations confidentielles et de secrets commerciaux, ainsi que de l’absence de cohérence sur la nature juridique de ceux-ci. Dans un deuxième temps, ce mémoire traite des régimes de protection juridique des secrets commerciaux au Canada, tant en droit civil qu’en common law. Nous abordons comment le rapport de confiance joue un rôle déterminant sur les obligations de confidentialité à respecter en présence ou en absence d’un contrat. Par la suite, nous analysons les clauses essentielles qu’une entreprise doit prévoir dans un contrat commercial ou de travail ainsi que les mesures pratiques de sauvegarde à implanter pour contrôler la diffusion des informations confidentielles et des secrets commerciaux. / The legal protection of ideas generated by companies in Canada only partially meets their needs and concerns. Such ideas translate into confidential information or trade secrets representing considerable and growing economic value for a great number of companies. It is in the absence of uniform trade secret legislation under civil law in Quebec and common law in other provinces in Canada that legal challenges are created for companies. A conventional response to such challenges is the advocacy of statutory reforms to strengthen the applicable law with respect to trade secrets and of their protection. This is precisely the solution instituted by the United States with the adoption of trade secret legislation per the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the Defend Trade Secrets Act. The coming into force in Canada of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement has resulted in the adoption of new criminal provisions, which, is a first step towards the broader codification of the legal protection of trade secrets. Firstly, this masters’ thesis discusses the concept of confidential information and trade secrets, as well as the lack of consensus as to their legal nature. Secondly, the present thesis deals with the legal protection of trade secrets in Canada, under civil law and common law. We discuss the decisive role that trust occupies in the obligation of confidentiality that is to be respected in presence or absence of a contract. Subsequently, we analyze the essential clauses that a company must include in a commercial or employment agreement along with practical safeguard measures to be implemented to control the dissemination of confidential information and trade secrets.