Product Names Are Not Trade Secrets: Market Court Clarifies Disclosure of Tender Information

Author: Annika Tiitola Read time: 2 min

In its interim decision, issued on 17 November 2025, the Market Court finally clarified its position on what information regarding a tenderer’s bid must be disclosed to another tenderer.

Information on a competitor’s tender is of particular interest when seeking to determine whether there are grounds for appealing to the Market Court, for example, on the basis of whether another tenderer’s bid contravened the invitation to tender. Previously, it has been difficult to obtain such information, as bidders have classified almost everything as confidential.

However, according to the Market Court’s new guidelines, for example, the offered product names must be disclosed. In the case in question, the invitation to tender included several mandatory requirements for the products to be supplied, and the tenderer claimed that all information relating to individual products constituted trade secrets that could not be disclosed to other tenderers.

The Market Court did not accept this. Referring to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Market Court held that the principle of protecting tenderers’ confidential information must be reconciled with the requirements of effective judicial protection. Furthermore, a tenderer’s mere assertion that information is of a business secret nature is not sufficient, but the contracting authority must assess the matter objectively.

The Market Court held that the following information must be disclosed:

• the name of the offered product, other identifying details, and related product descriptions
• the product’s trademark and model
• the manufacturer, distributor, and country of manufacture
• the product number on the packaging, the product’s medical device class, the GTIN code, and brief product descriptions relating to these
• “Yes” or “No” answers regarding compliance with the mandatory requirements of the tender form
• the tab of the tender that has not been completed.

This represents a significant change from previous practice. It improves bidders’ ability to assess the compliance of competitors’ bids and enhances the transparency of public procurement.