The Supreme People's Court has recently issued the Provisions on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Cases of Trade Secrets Infringement (the "Provisions") , which will take effect from September 12, 2020.

Compared with the previous edition, the Provisions are:

• More rich contents and a more complete system are introduced;
• Adhere to the problem-oriented principle to make the protection more effective;
• Attach equal importance to the procedural and substantive rules to provide more comprehensive protection.

The Provisions set out provisions on act preservation (Article 15), confidentiality obligations, and liability for infringement with regard to key nodes such as burden of proof, costs in safeguarding the rights, and infringement costs.

Meanwhile, clear and specific provisions on the identification of issues which are more controversial in the judicial practice, such as the information unknown to the public (Article 3), corresponding confidentiality measures (Article 5&6), and confidentiality obligations (Article 10), as well as provisions on the protection of trade secrets related to employees and former employees (Article 11), are set out in the Provisions, which not only provides a clear basis for judicial adjudication, but also offers a guidance for the obligee to build a system for enhancing the protection of trade secrets.

If you want to read the complete article, you can refer to the below link (in Chinese only): http://www1.shanghaiinvest.com/cn/viewfile.php?id=15285

If you have any question, please contact me.

Mr. Mike Chang

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