The following review of Qatar’s trade secrets laws continues the series of trade secrets law reviews for the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”). Qatar has a comprehensive legal regime in place for the protection of trade secrets, perhaps more so than its GCC counterparts. First and foremost, it has enacted a law to specifically address the protection of trade secrets (Law No. 5 of 2005 on Trade Secrets) (the “Trade Secrets Law”). However, Qatar also offers additional safeguards under its labour, intellectual property, criminal and commercial laws, as summarized below.[1] It is also worth noting that despite the protection already conferred by law, it is common practice in Qatar to address trade secrets and other confidential information by contract.
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MENA Trade Secrets Law Review: United Arab Emirates
We begin the first in a series of case studies of the Trade Secrets Laws of the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”) with a review of the trade secrets law of the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”).
The UAE affords broad protection of trade secrets through multiple avenues, including its civil, labor and patent laws. However, the lack of a specific and comprehensive trade secrets law means that scope and enforceability of these rights is somewhat uncertain. Thus, while the UAE does afford trade secret protection and remedies, the best form of trade secret protection for companies doing business in the UAE is through contracts with employees and third parties, which are generally enforceable.
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