Skip to content

Where are you from?

Choose your province and we will tell you how the deputies and senators you elected vote, one by one.

 

We remember it in this browser. If you create an account, we keep it there.
Sign in

Type a law, a topic, a person or a province.

What it is

Legal protection of trade secrets for Spanish businesses

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 25 May 2018. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill on Trade Secrets.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000023· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law protects any information or knowledge that is secret, has business value because it is secret, and whose owner has taken reasonable steps to keep it secret. It does not cover skills workers gain over their career or information that is generally known.
  2. The law explains when obtaining, using or revealing a secret is lawful (for example, discovering it on your own) and when it is unlawful, such as unauthorized access or copying or breaking a confidentiality agreement. Selling products that benefit from a stolen secret is also banned.
  3. A trade secret can be sold, assigned or licensed to others, and can be owned by several people at once. Anyone who sells or licenses a secret without owning it must compensate the buyer for resulting damages.
  4. Victims of a violation can ask the court for measures such as stopping the infringing acts, destroying infringing products, or compensation. Claims expire three years after the infringer becomes known.
  5. Cases are heard by the commercial court (Juzgado de lo Mercantil). The judge can keep sensitive information confidential during the case and limit who can access it, and can fine anyone who uses the law abusively or in bad faith up to one third of the amount in dispute.
  6. Urgent interim measures can be requested, such as stopping use of the secret or seizing assets, but the requester must post a bond. The law also amends the Unfair Competition Act so that trade secret violations are governed by this new law.

Who it affects

  • Businesses and self-employed people with valuable information (clients, business plans, know-how): Must protect with reasonable measures the information they want to keep secret and can claim if someone steals or reveals it.
  • Workers: Cannot use or reveal secrets if they break confidentiality agreements, but the law does not limit experience honestly gained during their career or their job mobility.
  • Holders of licenses over a trade secret: Can request urgent measures and, if the owner fails to act within three months after a formal request, sue in their own name.
  • Commercial courts (Juzgados de lo Mercantil): Hear these cases, can keep case information confidential, and can impose fines for bad-faith litigation.
  • Third parties affected by interim measures: Can claim compensation if they are harmed by interim measures that are later lifted.

Words worth knowing

Secreto empresarial (trade secret)
Valuable information not known in the sector and that its owner protects to keep it secret.
Medidas cautelares (interim measures)
Urgent court decisions, made before the trial, to stop the problem from getting worse while the case is pending.
Caución (bond)
Money or guarantee deposited in case the measure requested from the court ends up harming the other party.
Licencia (license)
Permission to use a trade secret under agreed conditions, without becoming its owner.
Mercancías infractoras (infringing goods)
Products or services that benefit significantly from a trade secret obtained or used unlawfully.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced25 May 2018Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted28 May 2018The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments1 June 2018Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee19 September 2018A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate11 December 2018The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE6 February 2019It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 8 official steps on a timeline
Jun 2018Sept 2018Dec 201811. 25 May 2018: Presentación22. 28 May 2018: Comisión de Justicia Publicación desde 28/05/2018 hasta 01/06/201833. 28 May 2018: Calificación44. 1 June 2018: Comisión de Justicia Enmiendas desde 01/06/2018 hasta 19/09/201855. 19 September 2018: Comisión de Justicia Informe desde 19/09/2018 hasta 27/11/201866. 27 November 2018: Comisión de Justicia Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 27/11/2018 hasta 11/12/201877. 11 December 2018: Senado desde 11/12/2018 hasta 06/02/201988. 6 February 2019: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 06/02/2019 hasta 04/03/2019

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Law 1/2019, of February 20, on Trade Secrets.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

Read the full method · Report an error