For attorneys’ eyes only? How the UK differs from international standards on disclosure

Published

Mar 23 2023

Written By

Richard Vary

Partner
UK

I specialise in patent disputes in the technology and communications industry.

Practices

Sectors

Technology & Communications

Regions

Western Europe

Countries

Offices

London

Information is power in the world of FRAND licensing. Richard Vary of Bird & Bird explains how the disclosure of confidential information and trade secrets are handled in the UK

From an economic perspective, the ideal dispute resolution system would have as little impact as possible on the businesses involved. It would be cheap, so it is not a big drain on their P&L. It would be quick. It would not require large amounts of management time. And it would not disturb the competitive landscape: neither party would achieve a collateral competitive advantage through litigation.

Where parties to litigation are required to disclose confidential information to each other, that could give them a collateral competitive advantage that…