Court of Appeal strengthens protection for owners of confidential information from loss, sets out modified approach for breach of confidence claims

In the recent Singapore Court of Appeal (“CA”) decision in I-Admin (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Hong Ying Ting and others [2020] SGCA 32 (“I-Admin”), the CA laid down a modified approach for breach of confidence claims. The modified approach is a notable change from what had been the position in Singapore for many years, and better takes into account the risks suffered by owners of losing confidential information given modern technology. It is also more aligned with the position taken by the English and Australian Courts in recent cases. Both owners of confidential information and employees should take note of the decision.