Extracts from "India: Protection of Trade Secret"
by Manisha Singh Nair

Trade secrets are protected in India either through contract law or through the equitable doctrine of breach of confidentiality. It is common to insert clauses of confidential nature in a technology transfer or other license agreement to maintain the confidential nature of the subject matter, not only during the employment period of the employees and contractors but also after its termination, though for a fixed period of time. The skill, knowledge and experience of a particular profession can also be protected in certain circumstances from misuse through contractual obligations.
To protect the vast repository of Undisclosed Information and knowledge kept as trade secrets by their practitioners, India should consider a pro-active legislation under a `Sui Generis' system as provided for under Art.10bis of the Paris Convention and Article 39(2) and 39(3) of TRIPS. This step, along with provisions under breach of contract or non-disclosure agreement, would go a long way in developing a way of respecting trade secrets and undisclosed information as proprietary assets.

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