Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

High Court (Ch): complex tax structures can be confidential; breach of confidence and unlawful means conspiracy established, with PD57AC sanctions, in Kieran Corrigan & Co Ltd v OneE Group

Published on: 27 April 2023

Published by a LexisNexis Information Law expert

Legal News

Article summary

Intricate tax planning may amount to confidential information, notwithstanding parallel arrangements by others (Kieran Corrigan & Co Ltd v OneE Group) Kieran Corrigan and Co Ltd v OneE Group Ltd and others [2023] EWHC 649 (Ch) (23 March 2023)

What are the practical implications of this case?

The ruling is indispensable reading for practitioners handling disputed confidentiality claims. The judge explored the nuanced considerations underpinning whether particular material is confidential, while also providing a crisp, thorough synopsis of the breach of confidence jurisprudence as a whole, beginning with the test in Coco v AN Clark (Engineers) Ltd [1969] RPC 41. The discussion spans scenarios where products are already publicly available (yet secrecy is claimed in the design), where the confidential corpus blends ‘public’ with ‘private’ elements, and where numerous ‘public’ components are assembled to yield confidential works. The judgment further notes alternative causes of action that can sit alongside breach of confidence within the same factual setting, together with the relevant limitation periods. These include instances where the information amounts to a ‘trade secret’ under the Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/597 (the Trade Secrets Regulations), and tort claims in the same factual matrix...

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