Förstärkt skydd för företagshemligheter, SOU 2008:63 - Regeringen

Summary SOU 2008:63years. The penalty for a serious offence should be imprisonmentfor a minimum of six months and a maximum of six years.Other proposed amendments to the penal provisionsWe propose that Section 4 of the FHL is amended so that thoseacquiring a business secret from someone who commits an offenceunder the proposed new penal provision can also be sentenced forthe unlawful handling of a business secret.Furthermore, we propose that a minimum penalty of six monthsshould be introduced into the range of penalties for serious corporateespionage. We do not consider that there is any need for otheramendments to the range of penalties.DamagesOur remitThe Inquiry has been assigned the task of deliberating on the provisionsof the Act concerning damages, including whether theprovisions on employees’ liability to pay damages should be extendedto cover agency staff. The review has also covered the issue of thebasis for calculating damages as a result of violations of the Act and,in particular, whether it would be better to calculate the damageson the basis of a notional licence charge; that is to say, by applyingthe model used in the area of intellectual property.The wording and scope of liability to pay damagesWe consider that there is insufficient reason to amend the structureof the provisions on damages so that they are based on the natureof the attack instead of on the attacker's relationship to thebusiness operator. However, there should be certain amendmentsto the provisions on damages, primarily because of the proposedextension of criminal liability.According to our proposal, the provision on damages containedin Section 5 of the FHL should be amended so that it also coversanyone who commits an offence under the new penal provision(Section 3 a). We propose that an employee should only be subject32