04.14.16
The International Fragrance Association welcomes the EU Parliament's decision to endorse the proposed Directive to protect undisclosed know-how and confidential business information, which companies regard as trade secrets.
This Directive will help fragrance houses large and small protect their considerable investments in know-how and foster continued innovation in a very fast moving, competitive and successful sector, further strengthening Europe's leading position.
Thousands of fragrance houses rely on trade secrets to protect the know-how invested in the harvesting or manufacturing of raw materials, their selection and transformation into fragrant products. This know-how, the lifeblood of our industry, is particularly vulnerable to unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure.
Pierre Sivac, IFRA President, said, "What is particularly helpful for our sector is the provision, clarified by the Parliament during the legislative process, that the Directive covers the unlawful use of information even when legally acquired. Our industry is particularly vulnerable to the misuse of information gathered legitimately by commonplace reverse engineering practices but then used in an unlawful way. This could include the launch of an identical copy or a client using the information to help a competitor create the same composition more cheaply," he explained.
This Directive will help fragrance houses large and small protect their considerable investments in know-how and foster continued innovation in a very fast moving, competitive and successful sector, further strengthening Europe's leading position.
Thousands of fragrance houses rely on trade secrets to protect the know-how invested in the harvesting or manufacturing of raw materials, their selection and transformation into fragrant products. This know-how, the lifeblood of our industry, is particularly vulnerable to unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure.
Pierre Sivac, IFRA President, said, "What is particularly helpful for our sector is the provision, clarified by the Parliament during the legislative process, that the Directive covers the unlawful use of information even when legally acquired. Our industry is particularly vulnerable to the misuse of information gathered legitimately by commonplace reverse engineering practices but then used in an unlawful way. This could include the launch of an identical copy or a client using the information to help a competitor create the same composition more cheaply," he explained.