– Law No. 2018-670 of July 30, 2018 on the protection of trade secrets, in force since August 1, 2018.

– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act.
– WTO's TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.

Definition: a trade secret is secret information which holds actual or potential commercial value and that is subject to reasonable protective measures taken by its lawful holder to maintain its confidential nature. In France, a know-how, a commercial strategy, technical, economic, technological or scientific information or even an idea (since the law includes information of "potential commercial value") can be protected as a trade secret. Trade secrets are protected against illicit appropriation by theft, unauthorized copy or economic espionage.

Criteria for enforcement: the lawful holder of a trade secret must imperatively take protective measures in order to maintain its non-public nature. These measures can consist of confidentiality provisions in contracts concluded with the holder's employees and partners but can also involve technical means. To be protected as a trade secret, the information must meet three cumulative criteria: (1) the information must not be generally known or easily accessible to people familiar with this type of information due to their sector of activity; (2) the information must have actual or potential commercial value due to its secret nature; (3) the information should be subject to reasonable protective measures taken by its lawful holder to maintain its confidential nature.

Assignment - licensing: possible.

Remedies for misappropriation: the infringer of a trade secret incurs its civil liability and thus the financial responsibility to repair the damage committed. If the trade secret holder has concluded specific agreements with the infringer, the contractual liability can also be engaged. Prior to any legal proceedings based on civil liability, the judge may order provisional and conservatory measures in case of trade secret infringement to stop an imminent or unlawful trade secret disclosure. These measures can consist in prohibiting the sale of products suspected of being the result of a trade secret infringement or in ordering the seizure of such products. These measures are provisional and conservatory measures only and must be followed by lawsuits.