Think Tank

Protecting trade secrets is not a 'private matter' for enterprises

2025-11-07   

Further establishing and improving a trade secret protection system that integrates self-protection, administrative protection, and judicial protection is necessary to effectively maintain a fair competition market order. Recently, the Third Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai made a first instance judgment on the case of Zunpai's infringement of Huawei HiSilicon chip technology trade secrets, sentencing 14 former HiSilicon employees to fixed-term imprisonment and a total fine of 13.5 million yuan. Trade secrets embody valuable intellectual property and innovative achievements of enterprises, playing an important role in maintaining the security of the industrial chain and developing new quality productivity. It is timely and necessary to establish a strong network for protecting trade secrets. Secure in development and seek development in security. Adhering to coordinated development and security is one of the principles that must be followed for economic and social development during the 15th Five Year Plan period. From innovative technology research and development to key product information, from business management information to future development plans, trade secrets are deeply integrated into the entire production and operation chain of enterprises. Infringement of trade secrets can seriously damage the economic interests of enterprises and suppress their innovation vitality. More seriously, it will disrupt the competitive innovation ecosystem and fair competition market environment, thereby hindering high-quality economic and social development. From this perspective, protecting trade secrets is not a "private matter" for enterprises, but a "public matter" related to the business environment, innovation ecology, and development security. At present, crimes such as electronic intrusion and "bringing confidential information into employment" that infringe on trade secrets are constantly increasing. Some emerging fields have strong concealment and difficulty in obtaining evidence of trade secret infringement, which poses new challenges to protecting trade secrets. This requires us to strengthen bottom line thinking, enhance security systems and capacity building in key and emerging fields. In recent years, the State Administration for Market Regulation has increased its enforcement efforts against illegal acts of infringing trade secrets. By 2024, 143 cases of infringement of trade secrets were investigated and dealt with, fully demonstrating the strong corrective effect of the "tangible hand" on market disorder. At present, nearly 30000 commercial secret protection service stations have been established nationwide, and the network of commercial secret protection services is continuously improving. Looking towards the future, further establishing and improving a comprehensive trade secret protection system that integrates self-protection, administrative protection, and judicial protection is necessary to effectively maintain a fair competition market order, nurture the innovation enthusiasm of enterprises, and protect the industrial innovation ecology. Trade secrets are the cornerstone of a company's participation in market competition, and the company itself is the first line of defense for protecting trade secrets. Enterprises should focus on personnel management, technological innovation, information circulation, confidentiality education, and other aspects around trade secrets, and carry out full chain management of trade secrets. For example, in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, a company in the field of industrial automation control implements classified management for its staff, accurately categorizes them based on different business areas and information importance, and reasonably sets access permissions, laying a solid institutional defense for the protection of trade secrets. The rule of law is the best business environment. Protecting trade secrets is a legal proposition and an important lever for optimizing the business environment. The Intelligent Manufacturing Industry Trade Secret Protection Alliance has been established in the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integration Development Demonstration Zone, with government functional departments, associations, and enterprises working together to achieve cross regional cooperation and protection of trade secrets. Nankai District in Tianjin is promoting the implementation of the "blockchain certification+trade secret insurance" trade secret protection model, opening up a new path for trade secret protection. From a practical perspective, promoting the quality and efficiency of trade secret protection urgently requires coordinating the efforts of all parties, amplifying the effectiveness of multi-party collaborative protection, and forming a more complete trade secret protection system. It should also be noted that the protection of trade secrets involves a wide range of areas and complex situations. Only by continuously strengthening institutional innovation and accelerating the filling of protection gaps can we take the initiative. The State Administration for Market Regulation has released the "Regulations on the Protection of Trade Secrets (Draft for Soliciting Opinions)", and Nanshan District in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province has released two group standards for the protection of trade secrets in the fields of artificial intelligence and embodied intelligent robots... Targeting the needs of trade secret protection, continuously deepening institutional and mechanism innovation is necessary to form a strong deterrent and better protect trade secrets. Protecting trade secrets is to cherish the spark of innovation. Forming a joint governance force involving multiple parties such as the government, society, and enterprises, promoting better resonance between enterprise innovation and high-quality economic and social development, is an essential part of safeguarding the new development pattern with the new security pattern. (New Society)

Edit:Luoyu Responsible editor:Jiajia

Source:people.cn

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