Creativity, Control and Trade Secrets: Innovation Policy Insights from Canada and Israel
69 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2012 Last revised: 15 Apr 2015
Date Written: August 1, 2011
Abstract
What does it take to succeed as an innovator? The aim of this article is to examine one aspect of this issue, by identifying attitudes to knowledge spillover as indicated by judicial policy regarding the law of trade secrets in the workplace, and to address their consequences for the high-technology industry. A comparative analysis of the laws of trade secrets and confidential information in the employment context in Canada and Israel is carried out, and in the process, a coherent narrative of these laws in both countries is furnished, with the aim of eliminating some of the uncertainty which is characteristic of this field. Combined with data connecting information spillover to high-technology growth, this article finds that the laws of trade secrets and confidential commercial information represent one type of potential instrument in social and economic policy, which can be used to facilitate growth in the high-technology industry.
Keywords: Trade Secrets, Employment Law, Comparative Law, Common Law, Fiduciary Duties, Canada, Israel, Hi-Tech Industry, Social Policy, Economic Policy
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