Author(s)

Jingrui Li ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Law, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai, 201620, China

Corresponding Author

Jingrui Li

ABSTRACT

The newly revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law in 2019 and the promulgation of related judicial interpretations have jointly updated the judgment standards for civil cases involving infringement of trade secrets. Although the judgment basis that can be invoked has become more abundant, courts at all levels still have different views on whether the information involved in the determination of trade secret infringement constitutes the "three elements" of trade secret, and on the two aspects of the "contact plus the same" proof rules for determining whether there is infringement. Therefore, starting from the concept and nature of trade secrets, it is emphasized that only those that meet the three statutory components of secrecy, value and confidentiality are trade secrets. Secondly, combined with specific cases, it clarifies the judicial identification of the "three essential elements" of trade secrets. Finally, the analysis of trade secret infringement should focus on the "contact plus identical" rules of proof. The order should be distinguished, first determining "identical" and then determining "contact". In judging the standard for "contact", it is relatively flexible. It involves comparing the information involved and applying a flexible application of both "general contact" and "contact possibility".

KEYWORDS

"Three elements" of trade secret; "contact plus identical"; judicial protection

CITE THIS PAPER

Jingrui Li, Study on Judicial Determination of Trade Secret Infringement. Science of Law Journal (2024) Vol. 3: 84-94. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/DOI: 10.23977/law.2024.030411.

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