ACT no. 309 of 25/04/2018 (In effect) Date printed: 21 August 2018 
Ministry: Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs Subsequent amendments to the regulation 
Journal number: Ministry of Industry, B usiness and Financial Affairs., None 
Danish Patent and Trademark Office, j.no. 15/00326 
The Trade Secrets Act1) 
WE MARGRETHE THE SECOND, by the Grace of God Queen of Denmark, make it known: 
The Folketing has passed and We have confirmed by Royal Consent the following Act: 
Chapter 1 
Scope and definitions of the Act 
1. This Act contains rules on pr otection against illegal acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets. 
2. Definitions used in this Act: 
1) 'Trade secret': Information that 
a) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its 
components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that 
normally deal with this kind of information, 
b) has commercial value because it is secret, and 
c) under the circum stances, has been subject to reasonable measures to keep it secret by the person 
lawfully in control of the information. 
2) 'Trade secret holder': Any natural person or legal entity lawfully controlling a trade secret. 
3) 'Infringer': Any natural person or legal entity that has unlawfully acquired, used or disclosed a trade 
secret. 
4) 'Infringing goods': Goods with design, characteristics, function, production process or marketing that 
significantly benefits from trade secrets unlawfully acquired, used or disclosed. 
Chapter 2 
Acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets 
3. The acquisition of a trade secret shall be considered lawful when the trade secret is obtained by any of 
the following means: 
1) independent discovery or creation, 
2) observation, study, disassembly or testing of a product or object that has been made available to the 
public or that is lawfully in the possession of the acquirer of the information who is not subject to any 
legally valid duty to limit the acquisition of the trade secret, 
3) exercise of the right of workers or workers' representatives to information and consultation in 
accordance with EU law and national laws and practices, or 
4) any other practice which, under the circumstances, is in conformity with honest commercial practices. 
(2) The acquis ition, use or disclosure of a trade secret shall be considered lawful to the extent that such 
acquisition, use or disclosure is required or allowed by EU or national law. 
1 4. The acquisition of a trade secret without the consent of the trade secret holder s hall be considered 
unlawful when the trade secret is obtained by any of the following means: 
1) unauthorised access to, appropriation of, or copying of any documents, objects, materials, substances 
or electronic files that are lawfully under the control of th e trade secret holder and which contain the 
trade secret or from which the trade secret can be deduced, or 
2) any other conduct which, under the circumstances, is considered contrary to honest commercial 
practices. 
(2) The use or disclosure of a trade secret without the consent of the trade secret holder shall be considered 
unlawful whenever the trade secret is used or disclosed by a person who has: 
1) acquired the trade secret unlawfully, 
2) breached a confidentiality agreement or any other duty not to disclose the trade secret, or 
3) breached a contractual or any other duty to limit the use of the trade secret. 
(3) The acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret shall also be considered unlawful whenever a 
person, at the time of the acquisition, use or disclosure, knew or ought to have known under the 
circumstances that the trade secret had been obtained direct ly or indirectly from another person who was 
using or disclosing the trade secret unlawfully pursuant to (2). 
(4) The production, offer to sell or marketing of infringing goods, or the importation, export or storage of 
infringing goods for those purposes, shall also be considered an unlawful use of a trade secret if the person 
carrying out such activities knew, or ought to have known under the circumstances that the trade secret was 
used unlawfully pursuant to (2). 
Exceptions in the event of disclosure 
5. An application for the precautionary measures, procedures and remedies according to Sections 8, 12, 
13 and 15 shall be dismissed if 
1) acquisition, use or disclosure was carried out for exercising the right to freedom of information and 
expression, including r espect for the freedom and pluralism of the media, 
2) acquisition, use or disclosure was carried out for revealing misconduct, wrongdoing or illegal activity, 
provided that the defendant acted for the purpose of protecting the general public interest, or 
3) this is a case where workers disclosed the trade secret to their representatives as part of these 
representatives' legitimate exercise of their functions, in accordance with EU or national law, provided 
that such disclosure was necessary for exercising the res pective functions. 
Chapter 3 
Protection of trade secrets during legal proceedings 
6. Any person employed or that has been employed in a public service or profession and that is party to 
legal proceedings concerning unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure o f a trade secret, or that has access to 
documents that form part of such legal proceedings, can be held criminally liable according to Sections 
152-152 f of the Penal Code for the unauthorised use or disclosure of trade secrets or alleged trade secrets 
that they have become party to as a result of participation in the proceedings or access to documents that 
the court has identified as confidential. This shall not, however, apply if the court has ruled that such 
information is not covered by Section 2 (1) or if such information is generally known among or readily 
accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question. 
(2) The precautionary measures, procedures and remedies referred to in (1) shall apply correspond ingly 
to lawyers and their authorised clerks, partners and personnel as well as others employed in the law firm. 
(3) Any person who, without being covered by (1) or (2), is party to legal proceedings concerning 
unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, or has access to documents that are part of such 
legal proceedings and who, without authorisation, uses or discloses trade secrets or alleged trade secrets 
that they have become party to as a result of participation in the proceedings or due to access to documents 
that the court has identified as confidential shall be punishable by fines. This shall not, however, apply, if 
2 the court has ruled that such information is not covered by Section 2 (1), or if such information is generally 
known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of 
information in question. 
7. When a court makes a decision in cases on unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, 
according to Chapter 2, Chapter 3 a an d Section 339 a of the Administration of Justice Act, the court shall 
take into account 
1) the need for ensuring access to effective legal remedies and to a fair trial, 
2) the legitimate interests of the parties and relevant third parties, and 
3) any injury the par ties and relevant third parties may suffer as a result of a request on granting or 
rejecting such precautionary measures. 
Chapter 4 
Provisional decisions on prohibitions and injunctions 
8. In cases on unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, the court can apply prohibition or 
injunction, upon application from the trade secret holder, in accordance with the rules in Chapter 40 of the 
Administration of Justice Act, however c f. (2) and (4). 
(2) The court can apply prohibition or injunction according to (1) if the party applying for a prohibition 
or injunction can prove or prove it likely, that 
1) a trade secret exists, 
2) the claimant is the trade secret holder, and 
3) the trade secret has been acquired unlawfully, is being unlawfully used or disclosed, or there is 
imminent risk of unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret. 
(3) When considering whether prohibition or injunction can be applied according to (1), the cour t shall 
take into account the particular circumstances of the case, including, if relevant, 
1) the value of the trade secret or other specific features of the trade secret, 
2) the precautionary measures taken to safeguard the trade secret, 
3) the conduct of the cla imant in acquiring, using or disclosing the trade secret, 
4) the consequences of the unlawful use or disclosure of the trade secret, 
5) the legitimate interests and possible consequences for the parties if the application on prohibition or 
injunction is granted or rejected, 
6) the legitimate interests of third parties, 
7) the public interest, and 
8) the safeguard of fundamental rights. 
(4) The court can wholly or partially revoke the prohibition or injunction applied according to (1), when 
the information on which the prohibition or injunction was based no longer comprises a trade secret, 
according to Section 2 (1), and this is due to reaso ns that can no longer be ascribed to the defendant. 
Furthermore, the court can wholly or partially revoke the prohibition or injunction applied according to (1) 
in pursuance of Section 426 (2), nos. 2 and 3, and (3) of the Administration of Justice Act. 
(5) According to Chapter 40 of the Administration of Justice Act and as an alternative to prohibition or 
injunction, the court can decide that the alleged infringer can continue to use the trade secret by providing 
security for compensation to the alleged in fringed party. 
9. If the court applies a prohibition or injunction in pursuance of Section 8, it can, at the request of the 
trade secret holder, concurrently rule on the surrendering of the alleged infringing goods if there is good 
reason to believe that t hey will be used to violate the prohibition or injunction. 
(2) During the process of a request for surrender, Sections 423 (1), second sentence, and (4) apply 
correspondingly. 
3 10. Assistance for the enforcement of prohibition or injunction applied accordin g to Section 8 shall be 
provided by the probate court according to the rules in Chapter 57 of the Administration of Justice Act. 
(2) At the request of the trade secret holder, the probate court can rule on the surrendering of the alleged 
infringed goods to the trade secret holder if there is good reason to believe that they will be used to violate 
the prohibition or injunction. 
11. In cases involving unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, Section 428 of the 
Administration of Justice Act applies correspondingly with regard to third parties who have suffered as a 
result of a prohibition or injunction. 
Chapter 5 
Ruling on prohibition and injunction 
12. When the court has ascertained that an unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret has 
occurred, cf. Section 4, the court can implement the following precautionary measures with regard to a trade 
secret: 
1) The cessation of or, as the case may be, the provisional prohibition of the use or disclosure of the trade 
secret. 
2) Prohibition of the production, offer to sell, marketing or use of infringing goods, or the importation, 
export or storage of infringing goods for those purposes. 
3) Recall of the in fringing goods from the market. 
4) Elimination of infringing aspects of the infringing goods. 
5) The destruction of the infringing goods or, as the case may be, the recall of the goods from the market, 
providing that such recall will not prevent protection of th e respective trade secret. 
6) Destruction of all or parts of documents, objects, materials, substances or electronic files containing or 
comprising the trade secret, or as the case may be, surrendering to the plaintiff all or parts of such 
documents, objects, materials, substances or electronic files. 
(2) When the court considers whether the precautionary measures according to (1) can be applied and 
evaluates the proportionality of such measures, the court shall take into account the specific circumstances 
of the case, including: 
1) the value of the trade secret or other specific features, 
2) the precautionary measures taken to safeguard the trade secret, 
3) the conduct of the infringer in acquiring, using or disclosing the trade secret, 
4) the consequences of the unlawful use or disclosure of the trade secret, 
5) the legitimate interests and possible consequences for the parties if the precautionary measures are 
complied with or rejected, 
6) the legitimate interests of third parties, 
7) the public interest, and 
8) the safeguard of fun damental rights. 
(3) When the court limits the duration of precautionary measures according to (1), nos 1 and 2, the 
duration must be sufficient to eliminate any commercial or financial benefit the infringer could have 
achieved as a result of unlawful acqu isition, use or disclosure of the trade secret. The precautionary 
measures shall lapse when they are no longer covered by Section 2 (1), and due to circumstances that cannot 
be directly or indirectly attributed to the defendant. 
(4) The precautionary measu res according to (1), nos 3 -6, shall be implemented at the expense of the 
infringer, unless there are special reasons for not doing so. The precautionary measures will not affect any 
possible compensation to the trade secret holder for the unlawful acquisi tion, use or disclosure of the trade 
secret. 
4 13. Instead of applying precautionary measures according to Section 12, the court can, at the request of 
the person to whom they can be applied, rule that said person shall pay compensation to the infringed party, 
if 
1) the person concerned at the time of use or disclosure neither knew nor ought 
circumstances that the trade secret had been acquired from another person wh
the trade secret unlawfully, to h
o wave kno
as using wn under the 
or disclosing 
2) implementation of the 
disproportionately, and precautionary measures in question will harm the person in question 
3) a monetary payment to the infringed party appears to be reasonable. 
(2) Compensation according to (1), that replaces the precautionary measures according to Section 12 (1), 
nos 1 and 2, cannot exceed the fees or duties payable by the person ordered to pay compensation during the 
period when use of the trade secret could have been prohibited, if the person in question had requested 
permission to use the trade secret in question. 
Chapter 6 
Legal proceedings 
14. An application for a prohibition or injunction in pursuance of Section 8 shall be submitted to the court 
within 6 months of the trade secret holder having become aware of an unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure 
of the trade secret to an extent that give s the trade secret holder sufficient grounds to submit such a request. 
(2) Legal proceedings requesting precautionary measures in pursuance of Section 12 (1) shall be 
submitted to the court within 6 months of the trade secret holder having become aware of the unlawful 
acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret to an extent that gives the trade secret holder sufficient 
grounds to submit such proceedings. 
Chapter 7 
Compensation 
15. Anyone who deliberately or negligently performs an unlawful action, as referred to in Section 4, shall 
compensate for the damages the trade secret holder has suffered as a result. 
(2) The value of compensation shall be determined, among other things, on t he basis of the trade secret 
holder's loss of profit and the infringer's unauthorised gain. 
(3) Notwithstanding (2), the compensation can be set at an amount which at least corresponds to a 
reasonable payment for use of the trade secret. 
(4) In addition to compensation, a payment can be determined to the trade secret holder for non -financial 
damages. 
Chapter 8 
Recurring penalty payments 
16. In the event of failure to comply with a prohibition or injunction applied in pursuance of Section 8 
and in the event of a court ruling defining precautionary measures in pursuance of Section 12, the probate 
court can, upon request of the trade secret holder, impose recurring penalty payments on the person against 
whom the prohibition, injunction or precautionary measures are directed. 
(2) Recurring penalty payments shall be set as daily or weekly fines that run until the prohibition, 
injunction or precautionary measures are complied with. However if it deems it appropriate, the probate 
court can decide that a single fine can be set that is due for payment when there is lack of compliance with 
a decision that the prohibition, injunction or precautionary measure must be complied with at a specific 
point in time. 
Chapter 9 
5 Publication of court rulings 
17. When sentencing som eone for unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, the court can 
rule that the sentence must be published in whole or part at the request of the infringed party. 
(2) The duty to publish rests with the infringer. Publication shall be accomplished at the expense of the 
infringer and in such an prominent manner as can be reasonably demanded. In the event of publication 
according to (1), the trade secret shall be protecte d. 
(3) When the court rules on publication according to (1) and evaluates the proportionality of the same, 
the court shall, to the relevant extent, take into account: 
1) the value of the trade secret, 
2) the conduct of the infringer in acquiring, using or disclo sing the trade secret, 
3) the consequences of the unlawful use or disclosure of the trade secret, 
4) the likelihood of the infringer continuing to unlawfully acquire, use or disclose the trade secret, and 
5) whether the details on the infringer will be of such a na ture that a natural person can be identified, and 
if that is the case, whether publication of such details is justified, particularly on the basis of the possible 
harm publication can cause to the private life and reputation of the infringer. 
Chapter 10 
Sanctions 
18. Violation of Section 4 shall be punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to 1 year and 6 months, 
unless a higher penalty is applicable according to Section 299 a of the Penal Code, providing the person 
concerned 
1) is in the service of or in partn ership with the infringed party or acts on the behalf of the infringed party, 
2) has lawful access to the business activities of the infringed party, or 
3) in the course of other business -related circumstances has been entrusted with technical drawings, 
specific ations, formulae, models or the like. 
(2) A reprimand can only be given at the request of the plaintiff. 
(3) Companies etc. (legal entities) can be held criminally liable according to the rules in Chapter 5 of the 
Penal Code. 
Chapter 11 
Entry into force 
19. The Act enters into force on 9 June 2018. 
(2) The deadlines in Section 14 expire no earlier than 6 months after the Act enters into force. 
Chapter 12 
Amendment of other legislation 
20. The following amendments shall be made to Act no. 426 of 3 May 2017 , the Marketing Practices Act: 
1. The heading before Section 23 is repealed. 
2. Section 23 is repealed. 
3. Section 37 (5) is repealed. 
(6)and (7) hereinafter become (5) and (6). 
21. The following amendments shall be made to the Penal Act, cf. Consolidated Act no. 977 of 9 August 
2017, as amended by Section 1 of Act no. 1402 of 5 December 2017, Section 1 of Act no. 1680 of 26 
December 2017, Section 1 of Act no. 140 of 28 February 2018 and Act no. 141 of 28 February 2018: 
6 1. Section 299 a, 1st sentence., "Section 23 of the Marketing Practices Act" to be amended to "Section 4, 
cf. Section 18 (1), nos 1 -3, of the Trade Secrets Act". 
Chapter 13 
Territorial Provisions 
22. The Act does not apply to t he Faroe Islands and Greenland. 
Given at Christiansborg Castle on 25 April 2018 
Under Our Royal Hand and Seal 
MARGRETHE R. 
/ Brian Mikkelsen 
7 1) The Act implements Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Co uncil of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know -how and 
business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure, Official Journal of the EU 2016, no. L 157/1, page 1. 
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