The Dual Treatment of Trade Secrets and the Expansion of Economic Criminal Law regarding Industrial Property
Abstract
This paper aims to analyze the political-criminal tension regarding the protection of trade secrets, evaluating whether the criminalization of their violation respects the principle of minimum intervention given the sufficiency of the unfair competition regime. The methodology employed applies the dogmatic method in its lege lata aspect to determine the scope of current regulations. The results demonstrate that although the legislator designed a suitable and expeditious prima ratio civil system, the persistence and toughening of the criminal route responds to a logic of «qualified loyalty» and protection of trust that transcends merely patrimonial interests. The conclusion holds that the criminal system acts as a reinforcement, even if this implies a theoretical friction with the subsidiary nature of punitive law.
Received: 24 November 2025
Accepted: 13 April 2026
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Last update: 08/02/2022
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