The Estonian competition authority, known as Konkurentsiamet, has introduced new guidelines that provide practical advice on how businesses can assess the scope and justification of their trade secrets. These guidelines are designed to facilitate the authority's processes regarding mergers and licensing (ex ante) as well as national oversight (ex post).

According to the guidelines, the authority will only consider information as a trade secret if it has been explicitly marked as such by the business and meets the necessary criteria. If there are doubts about the scope or justification of a claimed trade secret, the authority will evaluate its existence based on the need to protect the legitimate business interests of the company while also adhering to the principles of administrative transparency and the traceability of public administrative acts.

The trade secret guidelines serve primarily as a tool to ensure uniform administrative practices and legal clarity. However, they do not replace the need for understanding relevant laws and applicable court practices.