Dissecting the Trade Secret Chimera in the Era of Data-driven Economy

Ever-increasing availability of digital technologies, such as applications under the umbrella of Internet of Things, is shaping today’s society. These technologies produce huge amount of data, which could be used in myriad of ways. EU has recognized the potential of economic growth related to data-driven economy. Yet, to benefit from these potentials there is a need to provide access to data. At present, competition and innovation boosting justifications seem to direct towards availability of information.
In contrast to openness is the EU’s recent implementation of the Trade Secret Directive (TSD). Yet, concepts in the TSD can be applied in a manner to take into account digitalisation. The aim of this research is to analyze the ambivalent nature of European trade secret protection between the intellectual property and unfair competition paradigms from the perspective of data-driven economy. The research aims at finding interpretations which are fit for the data-driven economy.