'Parasitic Copying' Of Reverse-Engineered Products May Get Further EU Attention
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
The EU's provisional trade-secrets directive recognizes that information obtained via reverse engineering can be used to produce and market "slavish imitations" of winning products, such as fragrances. The directive headed for adoption does not provide a blueprint for aligning member-state laws and regulations governing unfair competition, but signals the European Commission that such action may be warranted.