Friday, 21 May 2021

16th Sitting of the Committee on Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy

At the sitting held on 21 May 2021, the members of the Committee on the Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy considered, in principle, the Bill on Protection of Trade Secrets, submitted by the Government.


The Bill on Protection of Trade Secrets was presented by Assistant Minister of Economy Dusan Vuckovic who said that it harmonises the system of protection of trade secrets with the relevant regulations of the European Union - Directive 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure and Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

The Bill gives the definition of a trade secret viz. it specifies what information and under what conditions enjoys protection as a trade secret. It also regulates the conditions under which the acquisition, use and disclosure of information that is a business secret is considered legal and under which conditions it is considered illegal. The provisions contained in the Bill represent the legal basis for civil protection in the event of a breach of confidentiality. It also proposes that the violation of trade secrets be sanctioned as an economic crime if it is committed by a company or a responsible person in the company, and as a misdemeanor if it is committed by a natural person or entrepreneur.

The proposed changes will have a direct impact on all economic entities with a vested interest in keeping certain information confidential, or that should have unhindered access to said information in the public interest. These are companies, scientific research organisations, agencies that provide services, such as marketing agencies, trade unions and journalists.

Following a debate the Committee members unanimously adopted the Bill on Protection of Trade Secrets in principle.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Veroljub Arsic and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Zoran Tomic, Vojislav Vujic, Snezana Petrovic, Vesna Stambolic, Natasa Ljubisic, Natasa Ljubisic, Mina Kitanovic, Gojko Palalic, Ugljesa Markovic, Ana Beloica, Branimir Jovanovic, Milos Bandjur, Adrijana Pupovac and Mirela Radenkovic.


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friday, 29 march
  • 9.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

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