Meaning
A binding judicial guide issued by the Supreme People’s Court of China provides detailed standards for defining and protecting proprietary commercial information. Litigants must refer to the trade secret judicial interpretation to understand the evidentiary requirements for establishing that information holds commercial value and has been protected by reasonable security measures. This guidance helps standardize the enforcement of intellectual property rights across all regional courts.
Confidentiality Measure
The trade secret judicial interpretation clarifies that the owner must take active, reasonable steps to maintain secrecy, such as signing non-disclosure agreements or restricting access to servers. It lists specific examples of what constitutes a reasonable measure under different business contexts. This provides companies with a clear checklist of policies that must be implemented to secure legal protection.
Damages Computation
Computing damages under the trade secret judicial interpretation allows for the consideration of the infringer’s profits or the owner’s lost sales. In cases of malicious infringement, the court can award punitive damages that are up to five times the calculated loss.
Injunction Grant
Pre-trial injunctions may also be issued by the court to prevent the further dissemination of the stolen information. This represents a necessary tool for preventing irreparable harm to the business.
