Trade secrets: how far does confidentiality extend?

By: Daniela Rojas

The protection of companies' confidential information has a constitutional basis in Article 15 of the Colombian Constitution. However, the right to obtain evidence, set out in Article 186 of the General Code of Procedure (CGP), can create tension and uncertainty about the limits of that confidentiality. A recent ruling by the Civil Chamber of the Medellín Superior Court (File 05001 31 03 001 2023 00219 03 of October 3, 2025, Justice José Omar Bohórquez Vidueñas) offers criteria on which business information can be ordered disclosed before a lawsuit is filed (pre-action disclosure):

Is a trade secret an absolute bar to the disclosure of documents?

No. Although Article 260 of Andean Community (CAN) Decision 486 defines a trade secret as undisclosed, secret information with commercial value, protected by reasonable measures to preserve its confidentiality, Article 261 of the same Decision allows its disclosure when required by law or by court order. The same follows from Article 15 of the Constitution and Article 61 of the Commercial Code.

Must the documents first be requested from the company?

No. The Court stresses that "the legal system does not provide for any kind of prior step or 'procedural prerequisite' for the interested party to resort to that out-of-court evidence"; that is, no prior request to the company is required. Meeting the requirements of Article 186 of the CGP is enough.

What can a judge order disclosed before the lawsuit?

Here lies the limit. The Court takes a restrictive reading where merchants are concerned. Although Article 186 of the CGP refers broadly to the disclosure of "documents, commercial books and movable things," the Chamber holds that this provision must be read in light of Article 65 of the Commercial Code, which restricts the disclosure of a merchant's books, and concludes that pre-action disclosure is limited to commercial books, understood under commercial law as the mandatory books and their auxiliaries. Under this view, other business information, such as customer databases, spreadsheets, manuals, price lists or know-how, falls outside pre-action disclosure, although it may be requested as evidence once the lawsuit is under way.

Who can request pre-action disclosure of commercial books?

Only a person who shows a direct, personal interest in the potential lawsuit in which the evidence is to be used, or their representative.

Must the request for disclosure of commercial books meet any formality?

Yes. The specific document to be disclosed must be identified. Requesting it "in the abstract" prevents disclosure, because it does not allow the information to be delimited or linked to the dispute.

In conclusion, a trade secret is not absolute, since the law allows its disclosure by court order in judicial proceedings; pre-action disclosure has clear limits: it may only cover commercial books, must be requested by a party with standing, and must specifically identify what is to be disclosed. Any other documents may only be requested as evidence once the lawsuit has begun.

Originally published in Spanish in the Consultorio section of Asuntos Legales on September 17, 2026.