TABLE OF CONTENTS Many readers would have been asked at some time in their professional lives to sign a confidentiality agreement. This often happens when visiting another company's development facilities. All engineering companies have information that they would not like to fall into the hands of a competitor, and use of confidentiality agreements is one way of protecting it.
What readers may not realise is that even without signing an agreement they must keep certain types of information confidential. This applies particularly strongly to employed engineers, who have significant obligations to their employers. This chapter describes those obligations, and sets out the background for protecting valuable information.
The scope of the chapter is limited to engineering information in a commercial context. It does not consider government secrets, defence security, or literary or personal confidences.
Unlike the other five types of intellectual property right (IPR) covered by this book, there is no statute law which can be consulted for a definition of what is legally protectable. The law of confidentiality has been developed by judges in court as they have considered disputes involving alleged secrets and made decisions on what was equitable and reasonable in the circumstance. This body of case law is the basis for the current position. The relevant cases span 150 years and most of the decisions have been practical and pragmatic, so the position is usually easy to understand once the background has been explained. Many of the cases involve engineering or at...
