Violation of trade secrets by a former employee

Facts

A. is a dealer of spare parts for radios and televisions. He concluded an exclusive representation contract with the German company B. for the sale of certain parts in Switzerland. In return, A. undertook to source exclusively from B. However, A. began sourcing from company C. at prices 40% lower than those of B. E., a manager of A., became aware of this situation. After spending a few days at B., E. was dismissed by A. E. then informed B. that A. was sourcing in Italy, in violation of his contract. The Cantonal Court of Berne convicted E. of economic espionage. E. filed an appeal for nullity.

Considerations

The SCC considers that Art. 273 SCC aims to protect national economic interests. Even behaviour contrary to contractual obligations can be protected if there is a legitimate interest in confidentiality. In this case, the fact that…