Balancing trade secret protection and public interest in the age of artificial intelligence: A critique of India's Protection of Trade Secrets Bill, 2024

Abstract

While global frameworks like the Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”) encourage trade secret protection, India's historical resistance to classifying them as intellectual property has created a fragmented system reliant on outdated common law principles. This article critiques India's newly proposed Protection of Trade Secrets Bill, 2024 (“Bill”) as a potential turning point, juxtaposing its promises against persistent ambiguities in defining trade secrets, inconsistent judicial remedies, and the rise of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) driven challenges. Through empirical analysis of Right to Information (“RTI”) cases, we expose how trade secret claims are weaponized to withhold public interest data, from facial recognition technologies to pharmaceutical pricing, raising urgent questions about accountability in the digital age. By dissecting legal theories, global precedents, and India's legislative pivot, this article argues for a recalibrated balance: one that safeguards innovation without stifling transparency, proposing a novel Trade Secrets Registry as a blueprint for harmonizing secrecy with public interest. While AI serves as a key context, the article's broader aim is to develop a principled framework for trade secret and confidential information in India.