China’s Jiangsu Province has issued the first-ever “Guidelines for handling criminal cases of trade secrets infringement”, according to news released on January 8, 2024.

Currently, China’s legislation on trade-secret protection is limited to Article 9 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and Article 219 of the Criminal Law.

With the number of cases of trade secrets being stolen due to employee turnover on the rise, the release of the “Guidelines” addresses long-standing challenges and controversies in the handling of criminal cases of trade secret infringement and provides important guidance.

The “Guidelines” clearly define the general requirements for handling criminal cases of trade secret infringement and outline aspects related to: the nature of trade secrets, acts constituting trade secret infringement, criteria for determining “serious” and “particularly serious” circumstances.

The “Guidelines” clarify that substantial losses to the rights holder can be the primary criterion for determining “serious” or “particularly serious” circumstances. For example, situations where the amount of losses caused to the trade secret right holder or the amount of illegal profits exceeds 300,000 yuan; or where the crime directly leads to the right holder’s significant operational difficulties, such as bankruptcy or closure.

Currently, technical appraisal methods are often used to establish technical facts in handling such cases. Therefore, the “Guidelines” explicitly state that the decision to commission technical appraisals will be based on comprehensive consideration of the specific circumstances of the case.

Laura Gao

Registration Practice Director

[email protected]

+86 10 8446 4788