Section 9: Unfair competition in respect of secret information

9. Unfair competition in respect of secret information (1) Any act or practice which, in the course of industrial or commercial activities, results in the disclosure, acquisition or use by others of secret information without the consent of the person lawfully in control of such information and in a manner contrary to honest commercial practice shall constitute an unfair practice. (2) Any disclosure, acquisition or use of secret information by others without the consent of the rightful holder may, in particular, result from— (a) industrial or commercial espionage; (b) breach of contract; (c) breach of confidence; (d) inducement to commit any of the acts referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c); or (e) acquisition of secret information by a third party who knew, or was grossly negligent in failing to know, that an act referred in paragraphs (a) to (c) was involved in the acquisition. (3) For the purposes of this section, any information shall be considered “secret information” where— (a) it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons who normally deal with the kind of information in question; (b) it has commercial value because it is secret; and (c) it has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances by the rightful holder to keep it secret. [Issue 1] P43 – 4 (4) Subject to subsection (5), any act or practice, in the course of any industrial or commercial activity, shall be considered an unfair practice where it amounts to or results in— (a) an unfair commercial use of secret test or other data, the origination of which involves considerable effort, which has been submitted to a competent authority for the purposes of obtaining approval of the marketing of pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical products which utilise new chemical entities; or (b) the disclosure of such data, except where necessary to protect the public unless steps are taken to ensure that the data are protected against unfair commercial use. (5) Subject to subsection (6), no person, other than the person who submitted undisclosed tests or other data, the origination of which involves considerable effort, shall rely on such data in support of an application for product approval for a reasonable period of time after the submission of those tests or data. (6) For the purposes of subsection (5), a reasonable period or time shall, taking into account the nature of the data and the person’s efforts and expenditure in producing them, be not less than 5 years, unless the Minister otherwise decides.