ABSTRACT

This quote could sum up a lot of what has been discussed in the chapters of this text. The dependence of economies on possession of land or machinery and the importance of that dependence is now out-weighed by the importance of dependence upon what might be called ‘intellectual capital’. Economies which have the knowledge to produce things more efficiently, to develop new technology to do this and to improve efficiency overall, gain the competitive edge. Intellectual capital or, quite simply, ideas, are paramount in this. As soon as an idea is shared with a third party, it is open to attack. It is essential that commercial

secrets can be protected against disclosure and that the courts impose this obligation to hold such information confidential.