Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Act 2017

Confidentiality of records, etc.

17. (1) The Controller shall keep records of—

(a) applications,

(b) KDB certificates issued,

(c) refusals to issue KDB certificates, and

(d) reviews,

in such manner and form as he or she considers appropriate.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), a relevant person shall not publish, open to public inspection or otherwise disclose (including disclose in any legal proceedings) any of the following (including any copies, in any form, of any of the following) which has been obtained by the relevant person during the course of the performance by that relevant person or another relevant person of a function under this Act, or which has been obtained by the relevant person during the course of assisting another relevant person in the performance of a function under this Act:

(a) the records referred to in subsection (1);

(b) information concerning any invention the subject of an application;

(c) technical information concerning industrial processes, commercial processes or formulae (including trade secrets and know-how) disclosed in an application, notice or request referred to in this Act.

(3) A relevant person may disclose records or information referred to in subsection (2) that he or she has obtained as specified in that subsection if—

(a) a court, or any officer having the power to order discovery in legal proceedings, certifies that such disclosure is desirable in the interests of justice and ought to be allowed, or

(b) the disclosure is—

(i) made to another relevant person, and

(ii) reasonably necessary for the purposes of this Act.

(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the due disclosure to the Revenue Commissioners or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners of records or information referred to in subsection (2) for the purposes of making a determination in relation to any tax, tax refund or tax credit under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .

(5) A relevant person who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

(6) In this section, “relevant person” means—

(a) the Controller,

(b) an officer of the Controller (including any trainee, temporary worker, intern or person on work experience),

(c) an adviser or consultant to the Controller or a member of the staff of such adviser or consultant (including any trainee, temporary worker, intern or person on work experience),

(d) a person engaged under a contract for services by the Controller or a member of the staff of such person (including any trainee, temporary worker, intern or person on work experience), or

(e) a person who was formerly a person who fell within paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).