Trade Secrets - Switzerland

Switzerland is a Member State of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which specifically protects undisclosed information (Article 39(2)). Confidential/undisclosed information is protected by a variety of provisions across the Swiss legal framework—both substantive and procedural—there is thus no specific act in Switzerland exclusively governing such protection. Relevant provisions (see Question 2) tend to distinguish between trade secrets in the sense of technical or industrial processes (secrets de fabrication/Fabrikationsgeheimnisse) and of commercial information (secrets d’affaires or secrets commerciaux/Geschäftsgeheimnisse)