The Mobile World Congress (MWC) lands again in Barcelona next February and the commercial courts already prepare all their artillery to avoid collapse and be able to quickly and efficiently address the lawsuits on intellectual and industrial property.

The leading fair in the mobile telephony and Internet sector becomes the showcase of the most innovative and cutting-edge technology and, at the same time, a focus of potential violations of Industrial Property rights for companies participating in this event, being able to cause them irreparable and economically significant damages.

A few months ago the Law on Business Secrets came into force in Spain (Law 1/2019, of February 20, on Business Secrets), aimed especially at companies and entrepreneurs who wish to obtain greater security in relation to the confidentiality and protection of inventions Non-patented algorithms, customer or supplier listings, commercial strategies or marketing campaigns, since historically this was an unprotected asset, with the enactment of this law a legal and procedural framework is established so that companies can defend in court what belongs to them.

This year the courts of Barcelona, ​​which have always been the pioneers in Spain in establishing procedural guidelines for action, have created a protocol for the Protection of Business Secrecy in the Courts, trying to adopt a series of homogeneous procedural practices according to what it establishes the standard, to safeguard technical and commercial information, strategies among others; The confidentiality of the companies. The Protocols that will be applicable this year throughout the month of February 2020, this will be the first time that a protocol will be applied for the possible violation of Business Secrets, since it will be the first MWC in which it will enter into force.

FIVE KEYS TO THE LAW OF BUSINESS SECRETS:

1. Greater legal certainty: this law reinforces the security and protection of undisclosed knowledge and information, as long as appropriate measures are carried out.

2. Integral protection: The protection is established against their uses or disclosures made by people who have been given access to information and also to industrial espionage.

3. Legal actions against offenders: the law establishes judicial actions or compensation that can be requested from the offender, taking into account the damage caused, the lost profits and the enrichment of the offender, in addition to the moral damage caused.

4. Restricted circle, proceedings and precautionary measures: among the procedural developments, the restriction of persons with access to evidence or court hearings, the regulation of the procedures that the holder may request and the precautionary measures whose adoption may be required may be highlighted.

5. Investment and growth: greater protection of business secrets favors the investment associated with the generation of knowledge, so this law favors companies and research organizations.

“The law has had an unquestionable impact, but it is important that companies are prepared and adopt protection protocols for their assets that can be framed in what the law defines as business secrets,”  Sánchez, J.