Description of the Project
Competitors, collaborators and former shareholders, as well as employees and freelancers, may have an interest in an AI company’s trade secrets for a variety of reasons. In practice, this shows that a protection concept for the company’s technology, as an essential asset, is very important. Since the introduction of the Trade Secrets Protection Act (GeschGehG) in 2019, there has been a great deal of uncertainty as to which confidential information is still considered trade secrets at all under the new legal situation and what protective measures should be taken. A particularly common question is, “Is there anything I can actively do to protect a piece of information as a trade secret?” The answer is “YES” and it is often even necessary in order to enjoy any protection at all for one’s trade secrets.
The project work is to scientifically assess how AI companies can best protect their technology (e.g. algorithms) and design a concrete protection concept for this.
Objectives and tasks
1. elaboration of the requirements of the GeschGehG for the protection of trade secrets. Examine whether algorithms/AI technologies also need to be protected under other laws (copyright, patent law, etc.).
2. research and compare the advantages and disadvantages of different protection concepts/strategies, especially with regard to AI technologies.
3. creation of a model protection concept (technical as well as legal) for an AI company with the creation of model clauses/contracts, e.g. employment contract clauses, non-disclosure agreement and the technical and actual protection options (responsibilities; authorisations; recording, listing and categorisation; risk assessment, risk classes; protective measures; control and updating).
4. the creation of a guide for AI companies on how to protect their own technology, so that their own protection concept can be designed.
