Canada is a trading nation. Throughout our history, trade has been one of the foundations of our economy. Equally important has been to establish rules for international trade. This episode we hear how trade agreement commitments are shaping Canada’s ability to regulate the digital economy. Matt Malone, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law at Thompson Rivers University, talks about how recent trade agreements are shaping the digital economy, often before domestic governments have acted with their own laws and regulations in pertinent areas.
He cautions that as Canada seeks to revamp law and policy for the digital economy, a growing risk area is divergence between our international obligations and our domestic laws and policies. In particular, he notes trade secrets are the go-to intellectual property for algorithms, data, and secret processes and formulas, but Canada’s law, policy, and enforcement in this area are uncertain and weak, even as trade agreements impose requirements for stricter regulation and enforcement. Ultimately, Matt calls on Canada to adopt a proactive approach that contemplates the impact of such provisions in trade agreements on its domestic law and policy goals.
Read the research, Connecting the Dots: How Recent Trade Agreements Are Regulating the Digital Economy
And access all our research at conferenceboard.ca.
About our guest:
Matt Malone’s main research interest is in the law of trade secrets and confidential information. He also maintains a broad interest in legal issues pertinent to modern workplaces, in particular workplace investigations.
Before joining Thompson Rivers University, Matt practiced law in California, where he worked in Silicon Valley in the employment and labor practice group of Morrison & Foerster (MoFo). At MoFo, he represented and conducted investigations for a roster of clients ranging from start-ups to the world’s largest companies in the high-technology sector. He also counseled on human resources matters for companies of diverse sizes and litigated employment disputes in various federal and state courts and agencies. Matt has also provided pro bono legal services to various LGBTQ+ individuals and organizations throughout his legal career.
Matt earned his law degrees at McGill University. Matt is called to the bar in California and New York and holds AWI-CH, PHR, and SPHR credentials.