Breach of Confidence in United Kingdom

Definition of Breach of Confidence

In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Breach of Confidence : 1. The disclosure of confidential information without permission.

2. Failure to observe an injunction granted by the court to prevent this. The injunction is most commonly granted to protect *trade secrets (except patents, registered designs, and copyrights, which are protected under statute), but may also be granted, for example, to protect the secrecy of communications made between husband and wife during marriage or, possibly, between cohabitants during their period of cohabitation. The laws protecting confidential information exist at common law and will only restrain the dissemination of truly confidential information. Information that has been disclosed anywhere in the world, unless it was disclosed under conditions (usually a contract) of confidence, cannot subsequently be prevented from disclosure by the courts.

Concept of Breach of Confidence in IP Law

[rtbs name=”intellectual-property-law”]Lambert defined breach of confidence as follows: Unauthorized disclosure or use of confidential information by a confidante.