ABSTRACT
The area of law used to protect innovation, disruptive or otherwise, is intellectual property law. One of the major ways in which shipping companies can protect such valuable data is through the law of trade secrets. An analysis of US trade secrets cases has revealed that in over 90% of cases the defendant was either an employee, former employee or business partner. The duty to take reasonable steps extends in US jurisprudence to cybersecurity and risk management. However, with international tensions currently running high between the USA and China this process has become stalled. In the conclusion to our chapter we note that whilst the motive behind the EU Trade Secrets Directive might have been to level the playing field between European businesses and their counterparts in the USA and Japan, there are differences. The militarisation of cyberspace resembles the situation in the sixteenth century, when states transitioned from a reliance on privateers to dependence on professional navies.
