Trade Secrecy, Factual Secrecy and the Hype Surrounding AI

Sharon K. Sandeen and Tanya Aplin, 'Trade Secrecy, Factual Secrecy and the Hype Surrounding AI' in Ryan Abott (ed) Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence (Edward Elgar, forthcoming)

King's College London Law School Research Paper Forthcoming

18 Pages Posted: 28 Sep 2021

See all articles by Sharon K. Sandeen

Sharon K. Sandeen

Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Hanken School of Economics

Tanya Aplin

King's College London

Date Written: September 14, 2021

Abstract

Access to and sharing of anonymized machine-generated data and the transparency of data analysis techniques has taken on vital importance in a world characterized by artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning'. In short, this chapter interrogates the extent to which such data and algorithms may qualify as 'trade secrets' under US and EU trade secrets law, focusing in particular on whether the definition of a ‘trade secret’ is met. We show through the use of two case studies – involving autonomous vehicles and credit scoring – and a close analysis of the trade secrets definition that the claim of trade secrets protection is overstated. The greater risk relates to factual secrecy rather than legally protected trade secrets and the policy debate needs to shift to assess what regulation, if any, there should be of data that is simply kept secret.

Keywords: Trade Secrets, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning

Suggested Citation

Sandeen, Sharon K. and Aplin, Tanya F., Trade Secrecy, Factual Secrecy and the Hype Surrounding AI (September 14, 2021). Sharon K. Sandeen and Tanya Aplin, 'Trade Secrecy, Factual Secrecy and the Hype Surrounding AI' in Ryan Abott (ed) Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence (Edward Elgar, forthcoming), King's College London Law School Research Paper Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3929928

Sharon K. Sandeen

Mitchell Hamline School of Law ( email )

875 Summit Ave
St. Paul, MN 55105-3076
United States

Hanken School of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 479
FI-00101 Helsinki, 00101
Finland

Tanya F. Aplin (Contact Author)

King's College London ( email )

Dickson Poon School of Law
The Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7848 1049 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/law/people/academic/taplin.aspx

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