Copyright and confidentiality

In Krueger Transport Equipment Pty Ltd v Glen Cameron Storage & Distribution Pty Ltd [2008] FCA 803, the applicant was successful in its claims for infringement of copyright and breach of confidence. The applicant had disclosed to the respondents as part of a quote to build trucking trailers, information regarding a load restraint system. The respondents argued that the information could not be confidential because it was not sufficiently original or novel having regard to information already in the public domain. Gordon J held that the information did have the necessary quality of confidence and in doing so noted that: “To put it more plainly, information need not be patentable, copyrightable, or otherwise protected by the intellectual property laws in order to be confidential.” The decision is here.