Breach of Confidence

The law of breach of confidence works to protect the misuse of confidential information and trade secrets. In order to succeed in an action for breach of confidence, the plaintiff must establish that (1) the information conveyed has the necessary quality of confidence about it at the time that it was given; (2) that the circumstances in which the information was given imparted an obligation of confidence upon the receiver; and (3) that the party conveying the confidential information suffered a detriment as a result of the unauthorized use of the information by the recipient of the confidential information.The commercial litigation team at Lerners has played an active role in shaping the law of breach of confidence in Canada. Beginning with the involvement of Earl A. Cherniak, Q.C. in Lac Minerals Ltd. v. International Corona Resources Ltd., a seminal decision of the Supreme Court of Canada with respect to actions for breach of confidence, our lawyers have paved the way in this area of the law.

Today, our knowledge of breach of confidence actions continues to attract lawyers and clients, who call on us to provide our expertise and input. We have extensive experience in representing clients in the variety of contexts in which an action for breach of confidence may arise. This includes cases involving the misappropriation or misuse of commercial, financial, technical or scientific information. We also have a breadth of knowledge of actions for breach of confidence in the employment context, which often involve information related to a company's current and prospective customer lists, targets and strategic marketing.