Committee publications
Defining the object: why trade secret claims fail in Ukraine
Most trade secret disputes involving former employees in Ukraine fail at the stage of defining the object of protection. The issue is not the absence of commercially valuable information, but the inability to express that value as a legally identifiable object. This article examines how Ukrainian courts address this problem and what it means for enforcement.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
Labour market shifts and the evolution of trade secret protection under Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act
Japan is simultaneously promoting workforce mobility and strengthening trade secret protection. The 2023 amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act expanded the scope of protected data, introduced extraterritorial enforcement and enhanced the remedies available, while the March 2025 revision of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Management Guidelines for Trade Secrets addressed generative artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, remote work and research institutions. This article examines these reforms, the evolving case law in this area and the role of non-compete clauses as a calibrated complement to confidentiality obligations.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
When former employees become a vector for IP infringement, trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition
When a service company loses a key client only to find a newly formed competitor, staffed by former employees, using its own operational tools, already in operation, the legal response rarely rests on a single cause of action. This article examines three interlocking claims under Portuguese law: unfair competition through employee diversion, trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement. It also surveys the procedural tools available — disclosure orders, injunctions and damages mechanisms — that determine whether the legal response is effective in practice.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
The legal framework governing intellectual property and entertainment in Tanzania
The music scene and a growing film sector have brought to the fore the critical importance of intellectual property (IP) rights in Tanzania. As creators and innovators increasingly leverage their artistic endeavours for commercial gain, a robust legal framework is essential to protect their interests, foster creativity and ensure fair compensation. This article provides a detailed examination of the IP and entertainment law landscape in Tanzania, highlighting key legislation, regulatory bodies and recent developments, all presented from the perspective of a seasoned legal practitioner.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
Towards a more holistic framework for trade secret protection in Türkiye: analysis of the draft law on the protection of trade secrets
In April 2026, the Turkish Ministry of Trade published a draft law on the protection of trade secrets, aiming to establish a more coherent legal framework for trade secret protection, drawing on European Union Directive 2016/943. This article provides a general overview of the draft law by highlighting the conceptual ambiguities, constitutional tensions and legislative inconsistencies likely to shape its implementation in the light of Directive (EU) 2016/943.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
The unregistered asset: protecting trade secrets from misuse by former employees in India
This article explores the legal landscape surrounding the protection of trade secrets in India, with a particular focus on misappropriation by former employees. In doing so, it surveys the judicial standards developed by Indian courts and examines the contractual and operational mechanisms that employers may deploy in the absence of dedicated trade secrets legislation.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
Guarding the crown jewels: legal strategies to prevent strategic data leaks post‑employment
This article examines the legal strategies available to companies under French law to protect trade secrets from misappropriation by departing employees, with a focus on the contractual, procedural and evidentiary tools shaped by the landmark Law of 30 July 2018 and a series of recent Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) rulings. It argues that effective protection depends not only on litigation readiness, but on the preventive architecture built before the departure occurs.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
Walking out the door: Australian approaches to safeguarding confidential information and intellectual property
This article examines the legal framework for trade secret protection in Australia, including breach of confidence, copyright, directors’ duties and fiduciary obligations, noting the benefits of a multi-pronged approach. It considers the practical implications of forthcoming reforms that aim to restrict restraint of trade clauses in employment contracts.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
Foreign heirs and real estate in Turkey: a practical overview of the legal framework
This article outlines the main issues of Turkish law arising where an estate includes real estate located in Turkey and contains a foreign element. It briefly explains the applicable conflict-of-laws rules, the determination of heirship, the restrictions on foreign ownership of real estate and the legal consequences where acquisition is not permitted.
Released on Jun 9, 2026
The evolution of the fight against organised crime in Brazil: from criminal factions to complex financial structures
This article traces the evolution of Brazil’s fight against organised crime, from the adoption of the Palermo Convention and the enactment of Law No. 12,850/2013 to the recent wave of financial crime operations and the passage of Law No. 15,358/2026 (otherwise known as the ‘Anti-Faction Law’). It highlights a paradigm shift from prosecuting traditional criminal factions (organised criminal groups) to dismantling complex financial structures embedded within the formal economy.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
A new compliance framework for companies operating in Latin America: heightened risks of exposure to cartel activity
Description: Recent changes in the use of counter-terrorism, anti-money laundering and economic sanctions tools against regional criminal organisations by the US government have resulted in increased compliance and enforcement risks for companies operating in Latin America. While no legitimate business would knowingly support drug cartels, the new enforcement focus of the Trump administration means even well-intentioned companies face increased risk from routine business activities. This article provides an overview of the recent regulatory changes in this regard and discuss practical steps companies can take to mitigate the risks.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
Parallel tracks: multilateral development bank sanctions proceedings and the criminal law of corruption in Latin America
The Inter-American Development Bank’s sanctions system is invisible to most criminal practitioners in Latin America. It should not be. Over the past decade, it has become a parallel track of corruption enforcement, reaching every IDB-financed contract in the region, debarring firms and individuals across the multilateral development bank system and increasingly feeding material to national prosecutors. This article explores not only the great strengths, but the issues of the system to give an insightful overview that will aid international lawyers with the question of how to move forward with the system at hand.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
US DOJ’s 2026 Q1 Latin America enforcement agenda: the convergence of enforcement, national security and foreign policy
In May 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum detailing its white-collar crime enforcement priorities, which included, among other goals, eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organisations (TCOs), prosecuting threats to US national security and targeting bribery and money laundering that harm US national interests. This article assesses how these points, alongside other national interests converged in the first quarter of 2026 and how Latin America has emerged as a focal point.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
Greenwashing: a ‘green’ collar crime?
This article assesses the growing phenomenon of greenwashing as a fraudulent corporate practice, examining its regulatory treatment across Latin America, and argues that greenwashing satisfies the definitional requirements of white-collar crime, warranting formal criminal recognition in Latin America.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
Spain as a gateway to Europe: smuggling risks involving Latin American trade flows
Spain occupies a distinctive position in regard to the trade between Latin America and Europe. It is not merely a relevant partner for Spanish-speaking countries. In many cases, it also serves as the natural gateway for goods entering the European Union from the region. This role, shaped by historical, logistical and economic factors, has a direct consequence: it places Spain at the forefront of administrative and criminal enforcement involving international trade with Latin America.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
Work permit exemptions for high skilled workers and researchers entering Canada on a short-term basis
Foreign nationals sometimes need to enter Canada on short notice, in order to perform gainful employment in Canada. In such cases, there may be insufficient time to apply for a formal work permit. Fortunately, it is possible for some foreign nationals to work in Canada for short periods of time, without the need for a formal work permit. This article explores the different employment laws and institutions surrounding these permits and how they effect foreign workers in Canada.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
Mexico’s judicial overhaul: implications for North American companies
Mexico has embarked on one of the most consequential constitutional transformations in its modern legal history. A sweeping judicial reform, enacted in September 2024 and now being implemented through 2025–2027, fundamentally restructures how judges are selected, how courts operate, and how constitutional protections function. For North American companies – particularly those operating under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) – this reform is not merely institutional. It has direct implications for dispute resolution, regulatory enforcement and the predictability of the rule of law in Mexico.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
Recent legislative amendments expand entitlement to Canadian citizenship by descent
Recent amendments to the Canadian Citizenship Act have significantly expanded the pool of foreign-born persons who may now have a claim to Canadian citizenship by descent. Anyone with an ancestor who was either born or naturalised in Canada may now have a claim to Canadian citizenship from birth if they can document the transmission of Canadian citizenship through multiple generations. This article will explore the history of amendments to Canadian citizenship, as well as the legal ramifications for the new amendment.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
When asylum confidentiality meets international police cooperation
International police cooperation is based on trust that participating states will act in good faith and that shared information will not be misused. US asylum law rests on a different assumption: contact with an asylum seeker’s home government can create danger. When these frameworks intersect, as they do in cases involving alerts issued by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), tensions arise that can expose asylum seekers and complicate adjudication, and which remain largely unaddressed in law or policy.
Released on Jun 8, 2026
Beyond the farmland: classifying Fulani herdsmen attacks in Nigeria’s middle belt as international crimes
In the early hours of 23 June 2018, gunmen descended on the Berom farming village of Gashish in Barkin Ladi, Plateau State, Nigeria. At least 86 confirmed dead, with credible witness estimates exceeding 200; predominantly women, children, and elderly men who could not flee. The events in Gashish are not isolated; they represent a persistent pattern observable across Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara, and Nassarawa States for over a decade.
Released on Jun 3, 2026
The hidden weapons of war: protecting urban life and environment
This article examines the emerging legal frameworks of ‘ecocide’ and ‘civilizational erasure’ in the context of modern urban warfare. Weaponisation of atmospheric toxicity through strikes on high-capacity petrochemical reservoirs located within a massive city like Tehran, is no longer just a tactical move; it becomes a ‘silent weapon of mass destruction’. This argues for a shift in international law and a new mechanism for restorative justice and strict liability is proposed to protect nations scientific soul and environmental future from the ‘Rule of Ruin’.
Released on Jun 3, 2026
From policy to persecution: healthcare denial and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan
Since August 2021, the de facto authorities in Afghanistan have imposed a series of nationwide restrictions affecting women’s access to education, employment and healthcare. These measures raise the question of whether the cumulative denial of healthcare access to women may amount to the crime against humanity of persecution under Article 7(1)(h) of the International Criminal Court Rome Statute.
Released on Jun 3, 2026
Strategy of darkness: a weapon of war
In modern high-intensity conflict, the front lines are no longer confined to trenches and physical fortifications; they extend to the power switches and water pumps of civilian metropolises.
Released on Jun 3, 2026
Artificial intelligence, surveillance and war crimes in Africa: regulatory challenges for the African Union Commission
Artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced surveillance technologies are increasingly deployed in armed conflicts across Africa. These developments raise complex questions for international humanitarian law and international criminal law, particularly in relation to attribution of responsibility, evidentiary standards and civilian protection
Released on Jun 3, 2026
Voices from the field - Diego Ignacio Sierra Laris
This series asks the Anti-Corruption Committee’s officers the most significant anti-corruption risks and challenges that are currently affecting their region. This edition is with Diego Ignacio Sierra Laris, the Committee’s Regional Representative for Latin America, who discusses the challenges for Mexico in finding practical solutions in tackling misconduct and the need to ground investigative, compliance or regulatory strategy in a nuanced understanding of local contexts.
Released on May 27, 2026
IP and sports in a year of global competitions: legal, strategic and commercial considerations for rightsholders and market participants
This article examines the strategic role of intellectual property in the global sports industry during a year marked by the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. It analyses key legal and commercial challenges for rightsholders and third-party market participants, covering athlete image rights, artificial intelligence-generated representations, licensing, broadcasting, anti-counterfeiting and ambush marketing. Practical perspectives from industry practitioners featured in a webinar hosted by the IBA Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee on World Intellectual Property Day 2026 are integrated throughout the article.
Released on May 27, 2026
Cross-border intellectual property litigation: a Latin American look with a focus on life sciences and patent enforcement
This article aims to give some advice on how to design a cross-border litigation strategy in Latin America with a focus on the life sciences industry and patent enforcement. Considering such frame, our analysis will encompass the scenario in Brazil and Mexico (the two biggest economies of the region) and Mercosur, giving hints on Latam specific issues concerning the interplay between patent protection and health regulations as well as prosecution strategies.
Released on May 12, 2026
FDA’s Departure from conventional policymaking procedures: policy by journal articles
When the new administration took office in January 2025, it introduced a nontraditional form of policymaking at the United States Food and Drug Administration: drug approval reforms announced in restricted-access journal articles. The policy changes outlined in these articles range from introducing a new regulatory approach for individualised therapies to changing the number of clinical investigations generally required for drug approval from two to one. Such policymaking via a journal article lacks many procedural safeguards. This article explores why policymaking in this manner is potentially inconsistent with US administrative law principles under the Administrative Procedure Act and with FDA’s own statutory and regulatory regime, as set forth in the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997. We conclude that regulated industry and the public must pursue creative strategies for communicating their needs to the Agency or urge FDA to comply with its procedural obligations. Doing so will ensure that FDA’s policies better account for the interests of industry and the people the Agency serves.
Released on May 12, 2026
Left to our devices: connected care and its legal challenges
The quiet revolution in healthcare is no longer happening in the operating theatre; it is happening on our wrists, in our pockets, and in the cloud. Wearables, home monitoring kits, and AI-driven dashboards promise continuous, connected care, but they also drag hospitals and manufacturers into a thicket of regulatory, liability, and data-governance questions that traditional health law was not designed to answer.
Released on May 12, 2026
All change in the EU: impact of the new EU legislation on combination products in the UK and Switzerland
The European Union’s pharmaceutical reforms will significantly reform medicines regulation, but changes for combination products are more limited, codifying definitions and providing a framework for coordination; applicants must still comply with both the medicines and devices rules. The United Kingdom and Switzerland often align with EU rules but retain separate frameworks; greater divergence may add complexity. The UK remains broadly aligned post-Brexit, but increased divergence may create challenges for reliance pathways and coordination. Switzerland’s authorisation system remains distinct, but alignment on devices means EU device approaches may influence Swissmedic. Overall, impacts are initially procedural, though future EMA developments could drive further divergence.
Released on May 12, 2026