Are you looking for a breach of confidence meaning? Are you dealing with a lawsuit in British Columbia, Ontario, or somewhere else in Canada? You’ve come to the right place.

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Breach of confidence lawsuits often starts when confidential information is claimed to have been leaked. It often has to do with employment or contractor issues.

If someone signs an employment contract that has a confidentiality clause, and then they disclose trade secrets to others, they might be liable for the breach of confidence claim.

There are three things that the person filing the lawsuit (the plaintiff) must prove

That there was confidential information, and that it was sent to a third party
There was an understanding that the information was confidential
The person responding to the lawsuit misused the confidential information, most likely by sharing it with a third party.

Someone can not be liable for sharing confidential information if the information is already public knowledge. If someone else leaks the information, it is now public information.

The lawsuit becomes more complicated if there is no confidentiality agreement. The judge must then try and figure out if both parties understood the information or documents to be confidential.

The judge will try and decide what a reasonable person would have thought when receiving the information.

For example, if someone shares their award-winning recipe for hot sauce with a friend, it’s assumed that they did not want the friend to upload the recipe to the internet.

However, if someone tells you their office address, it’s unlikely that you should have thought that was secret information.

Breach of confidence tort

Breach of confidence has become a more common lawsuit since the rise of the internet. It is now easier to share confidential information with the click of a button.

Many people commit breaches and try to remain anonymous using things like TOR or VPN services.

There have also been many updates to privacy laws, such as the DMCA and the Freedom of Information Act.

Breach of confidence ties into privacy law and intellectual property laws.

Common Defences for a Breach of Confidence Lawsuit

The information was not confidential
The defendant did not have a duty to keep the information confidential
Freedom of speech
The information was not sent to a third party
Public interest (whistle-blowers)

Do not assume you are a whistle-blower. The judge might not see it that way. Speak to a law firm before doing anything.

There is a difference between what the public is interested in, and what is seen by the courts as “public interest.”

Sometimes the overall story might be in the public interest, but that doesn’t mean leaking PDFs is okay.

Breaking Down the Definition of Breach of Confidence

In many cases, the legal facts fall somewhere between public interest and freedom of speech. That’s why it’s important to speak to an attorney. You need an expert to present the evidence to the judge.

As always, the plaintiff will need to show damages in order to get a meaningful judgment award. Many lawsuits settle before going to trial.

In summary, the breach of confidence meaning is simply when someone shares information that the other side thought was confidential. Now there might be a lawsuit.

This article forms part of our litigation series. Click the link to read more about lawsuits.

Read about other legal terms.

Author: Alistair Vigier is the CEO of ClearWay Law

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What Does Breach of Confidence Mean? Legal Insights