Since April 2019, the Trade Secrets Act has defined what a trade secret is in German law. Information counts as a secret only if it has commercial value because it is not generally known, if there is a legitimate interest in keeping it secret, and if its lawful holder has taken angemessene Geheimhaltungsmaßnahmen, reasonable measures to keep it secret. Examples of such measures are physical access restrictions and contractual safeguards. A company that does not guard its knowledge loses the law’s protection for it.