Internal information was not trade secrets

An employee who worked at a protected housing company deleted 1,600 of the company’s files, including password lists and procedural routines. 400 of the files were claimed to be trade secrets.

The company only managed to recover 19 out of the more than 1,600 deleted files. The recovered files included plans for a new emergency home and a new company strategy.

Not elaborate enough

No files were considered to contain trade secrets. This was mainly because the court was only had access to file names and the company could not prove how the information could cause damage to the company.

As for the recovered files, only those relating to a new emergency home and a new company strategy were relevant. However, the company had not shown that the content was so essential that disclosure could cause competitive damage.

IUNO’s opinion

This case illustrates that companies must be at a competitive loss if the secret is made public, meaning the information should be of economic value. Companies should also keep the information secret, although there is no formal requirement to do so.

IUNO recommends that companies identify their trade secrets and take an active part in safekeeping the information. It is important to know what information the company deems valuable to take steps to protect it. We have previously written about a case where two parties breached the Trade Secrets Act here.

[The Swedish Labour Court’s decision of 14 February 2024 in case 13/24]