The industrial secret is the information about a product or service that reflects added value or a competitive advantage for the company. This was the topic of conversation on “Legal Insights in 5 Minutes” on Radio Femenina, which featured our lawyer and the new head of the Intellectual Property Department, Fátima Espinal, as a guest.

Our expert mentions that the concept of the industrial secret is related to the confidentiality of information. In other words, it contains specific information that competitors shouldn’t know because it signifies some kind of advantage.

“Within Intellectual Property, there’s the industrial secret. It’s all that confidential information that holds significant value for a company or business,” explains Espinal.

Espinal stated that every company has the right to protect its industrial secrets, meaning ensuring legal protection for all products, services, procedures, or policies that it doesn’t want to disclose publicly or that belong to third parties.

Our lawyer clarifies that an industrial secret can encompass protecting information regarding manufacturing know-how, customer databases, graphic material, computer codes, formulas or recipes, business strategies, manuals, or financial information.

“If your competition gains knowledge of this information, as consumers, we wouldn’t care about consuming different products because they end up being the same. There would no longer be distinctiveness against your competitors,” she added.

In our legislation, there’s a regulation called the Intellectual Property Law which has a section about industrial secrets. Article 177 states that information that is public domain, obvious to an expert in the field, or that must be disclosed by legal provision or court order is not considered an industrial or commercial secret.

If an employee or an outsider reveals the industrial secret, they will be subject to monetary and even criminal consequences. Espinal indicated that companies can claim damages, a right that victims or creditors have to demand from the party at fault or the debtor an amount of money equivalent to the extent of the breach or harm caused.

“There are also criminal consequences. It’s an offense recognized by the Penal Code, punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years. If used for personal gain, the penalty increases up to a third of its maximum,” she concluded.

If you’d like to receive more information, you can contact our Intellectual Property Department or visit our offices at Cuscatlán Street, #4312, Escalón Neighborhood, San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America.