Andrew Clay on making taking trade secrets a criminal offence. Andrew Clay is a partner at Hammond Suddards in Leeds.
The Law Commission’s recently published proposals to make the taking of trade secrets a criminal offence deserves a warm welcome. At present, taking trade secrets is not a criminal offence because mere information, however sensitive, can not constitute property for the purposes of s.1(1) of the Theft Act 1968. This frequently leads to the ludicrous […]