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商业秘密保护绝非易事，在当今中国更是如此。当下，中国创新蓬勃发展，亦需求更加完善的商业秘密保护。在本文中，我将首先阐述中国商业秘密保护司法实践的重要性，接着分享我对当前司法实践的一些建设性思考。随后，我会总结我的团队为企业打造的创新型五维商业秘密保护体系，以及基于内部实际需求的42个业务场景。我的团队已准备好为创新者建设五维商业秘密保护体系及提供各类知识产权法律服务。

Protection of trade secrets is never easy, especially in today’s China, where innovation is booming and calling for more comprehensive trade secret protection. In this article, I will firstly explain the importance of judicial practice in China’s trade secret protection, then I will share some of my constructive thoughts on today’s judicial practices. After this, I provide a summary of my team’s innovative five-dimensional trade secret protection system for corporates and 42 practice scenarios for our own benefit. My team is ready to offer five-dimensional trade secret protection system implementation services as well as all other IP legal services to innovators.

一家科技公司的核心技术图纸被竞争对手窃取，一款新药的研发数据遭内部人员泄露，一个电商平台的核心用户画像被非法复制——这些看似遥远的危机，每天都在中国的商业战场上真实上演。

A tech company’s core technical blueprints are stolen by competitors, a new drug’s R&D data is leaked by insiders, an e-commerce platform’s core user profiles are illegally replicated... these crises, seemingly distant from daily operation, unfold daily on China’s commercial battleground.

商业秘密，这个看不见、摸不着却价值连城的“隐形资产”，正成为数字经济时代企业生存与发展的命脉。它不仅是苹果、华为等巨头的核心资产，更是中小微企业破局进入成熟市场的“秘密武器”。我的团队的使命——“在知识产权的道路上，做创新者的引路人、筑路人；推动公平竞争，保护真正的创新者”，与这样的背景尤为契合。我们深知，每一次商业秘密案件的维权，不仅关乎企业的生死存亡，更关乎整个国家创新生态的健康发展，商业秘密保护彰显的是国家对“创新驱动发展”的战略坚守。

Trade secrets, these invisible yet invaluable “intangible assets”, have become the lifeline for corporate survival and growth in the era of digital economy. They are not only the core assets of giants like Apple and Huawei but also the “secret weapon” for SMEs to break through into the established markets. The mission of my team – ”to guide and pave the way for innovators on the path of intellectual property; to promote fair competition and protect genuine innovators” – resonates deeply within this context. We recognise that every trade secret case not only determines a company’s survival but also impacts the nation’s innovation ecosystem. Trade secret protection embodies China’s strategic commitment to “innovation-driven development”.

在我的团队经办的商业秘密刑事案件中，既有成功为权利企业维权，严厉打击情节恶劣的犯罪行为的案件，同样也有为犯罪嫌疑人辩护使其被合理量刑或免责的案件。我们在知识产权道路上，致力于为企业、员工等真正的创新者探索并明确一条清晰的“红线”，实现真正的公平竞争，让真正的创新能够即不为侵权所累，也不为前路不明而忧。

As demonstrated in criminal trade secret cases handled by my team, we have successfully defended trade secret holders, cracked down on egregious criminal acts, and provided defence for criminal suspects to ensure proper sentencing or even exoneration. In the realm of intellectual property, we strive to define clear “red lines” for enterprises, employees and genuine innovators, fostering true and fair competition. What we have done and keep doing ensures innovation is neither burdened by infringement nor hindered by legal ambiguity.

1.从“无据可依”到“立体防护网”

1. Evolution in legal rules: from “no law to follow” to a “multi-layered protection matrix”

2019年《反不正当竞争法》：该法将商业秘密侵权的法定赔偿上限提高至500万元人民币，并引入惩罚性赔偿（最高可达实际损失或违法所得的五倍），让恶意侵权者付出“倾家荡产”的代价。

2019 Anti-Unfair Competition Law: This law raised the statutory compensation ceiling for trade secret infringements to CNY5 million and introduced punitive damages (up to five times the actual loss or illicit gains), imposing ruinous costs on malicious infringers.

2020年《最高人民法院关于审理侵犯商业秘密民事案件适用法律若干问题的规定》：该司法解释明确了电子数据、算法等新型商业秘密的认定标准，并就非法手段的认定提供了更具适用性的指导方针。

2020 Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Cases Involving Trade Secret Infringement: These provisions clarified the standards for identifying new types of trade secrets, such as electronic data and algorithms, and provided more applicable guidelines on identifying unlawful means.

2020年《刑法修正案（十一）》：该修正案增设了“为境外的机构、组织、人员窃取、刺探、收买、非法提供商业秘密”罪，剑指跨境商业间谍活动。

2020 Criminal Law Amendment (XI): This amendment added the crime of “stealing from, spying on, bribing for, or illegally providing trade secrets to foreign entities”, targeting cross-border commercial espionage.

2021年《最高人民法院关于审理侵害知识产权民事案件适用惩罚性赔偿的解释》：该解释为惩罚性赔偿提供了详细的考量因素，确保在涉及故意侵权的案件中，惩罚性赔偿规则能够有效适用。

2021 Interpretation of Supreme People’s Court on the Application of Punitive Damages in Hearing Civil Cases of Infringement upon Intellectual Property Right: This interpretation provided detailed consideration factors for punitive damages to ensure the rules on punitive damages can be effectively cited in cases involving malicious infringers.

2025年《最高人民法院 最高人民检察院关于办理侵犯知识产权刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释》：该解释整合了先前多件两高关于侵犯知识产权刑事案件的司法解释，文字表述更加准确凝练，亦补充明确了细节问题。

2025 Interpretation of Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling of Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement: This interpretation consolidated the existing interpretations of Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate concerning criminal cases of intellectual property infringement with polished texts and new articles on details.

2.司法实践的突破性变化

2. Breakthroughs in judicial practices

(1)刑事手段成为震慑侵权的“利剑”

(1) Criminal measures as a “sword” to deter infringement

2023年，全国公安机关立案侦查商业秘密刑事案件同比激增65%，其中60%涉及高新技术领域。商业秘密刑事的数量增长也反映了商业秘密刑事保护力度的加强。在2023年-2024年期间，我的团队成功代理五件商业秘密刑事案件。之前，商业秘密刑事案件立案时有受阻，但目前，各地检察院和公安厅都在通过办案指引，从例如降低举证责任等方面降低权利人报案的“门槛”。但在商业秘密内容、侵权行为、损失金额的计算等事实上，仍呈现出各类复杂的法律问题。员工流动，企业并购、技术合作中处处都可能落入商业秘密的“陷阱”。

In 2023, Chinese public security authorities saw a 65% year-on-year surge in criminal trade secret cases, with 60% involving high-tech sectors. This reflected strengthened criminal enforcement. From 2023 to 2024, my team successfully handled five such cases. Previously, filing such cases faced hurdles, but prosecutors and police departments now streamline processes through guidelines, such as easing evidentiary burdens. However, legal complexities persist in defining trade secret content, proving infringement and calculating losses. Employee mobility, mergers and technical collaborations often trigger trade secret “traps”.

示例案件1：在伊某公司与被告人张某、李某共同侵犯了米某公司的商业秘密的刑事案件中，离职前员工以不正当手段获取米某公司技术图纸入职伊某公司，最终，李某犯侵犯商业秘密罪，判处有期徒刑四年六个月，罚金人民币十万元，伊某公司被处罚金四百万元。该案乃判罚当时刑罚最高案件。

Exemplary case 1: In a case involving Company Y and defendants Zhang and Li, former employees illicitly obtained technical blueprints from Company M and joined Company Y. The court sentenced Li to 4.5 years’ imprisonment and a CNY100,000 fine, while Company Y was fined CNY4 million – the highest penalty of its kind at the time.

示例案件二：我的团队为上海自贸区首例商业秘密案中的被告辩护，这起侵犯加油枪商业秘密案耗时近两年半，仅鉴定就反复做了6次，辩护方前后递交材料也有5次，基于对法律问题透彻、全面的分析，被告人最终均未判实刑。

Exemplary case 2: My team defended a defendant in Shanghai’s first free-trade zone trade secret case involving fuel nozzle technology. The 2.5-year litigation required six rounds of forensics and five defence submissions. Through rigorous legal analysis, the defendant avoided imprisonment.

(2)员工流动与商业秘密保护的平衡

(2) Balancing employee mobility and trade secret protection

在刑事规制帮助企业挽回损失和遏制不正当竞争的同时，新创企业及具备一定专业经验的员工则更关注商业秘密和员工技能的边界和区分。在甬某公司上市专项案件中，由于技术人员与某竞争对手重合度较高而产生商业秘密争议，然而该案中细致分析甬某公司的研发背景情况，则可以将甬某公司技术人员的研发与某竞争对手之商业秘密进行区分，使员工通过自身技能施展其创新能力。

While criminal protections help enterprises recover losses and deter unfair competition, start-ups and skilled employees increasingly seek clarity on the boundary between trade secrets and employee expertise. In a case involving Company X’s IPO, the overlapping of technical personnel with a competitor sparked disputes. Detailed analysis of R&D histories distinguished Company X’s innovations from the competitor’s secrets, enabling employees to leverage their skills lawfully.

（3）惩罚性赔偿的落地实践

(3) Implementation of punitive damages

自2019年反不正当竞争法修法以来，商业秘密民事案件中，针对恶意侵权行为在实际损失或侵权获利确定的赔偿基础上可以适用2-5倍的惩罚性赔偿。在最高人民法院审结的一起国内两家知名车企之间因大量员工“跳槽”引发的新能源汽车底盘技术秘密侵权纠纷案中，最高人民法院二审适用2倍惩罚性赔偿，判决侵权人赔偿经济损失及维权合理开支合计6.4亿余元，创我国知识产权侵权诉讼判赔数额历史新高，也成为标杆性案例。同时，该案判决在停止侵害以及拒绝履行法院判决的责任等方面，亦进行了开创性探索。

Post-2019 amendments, civil trade secret cases allow punitive damages (2-5x actual losses or illicit gains) for malicious acts. In a landmark case, China’s Supreme Court applied 2x punitive damages in a dispute between two auto makers over electric vehicle chassis technology, awarding a record CNY640 million in damages. The ruling also set precedents for injunctive relief and penalties for non-compliance.

在司法实践中，仍然会面临各种问题和争论。这些问题和争论需要进一步厘清，同时也需要从立法层面加以解决。我分享以下争议点，请读者一起思考。

In judicial practice, various issues and debates still arise, needing further clarification and resolution at the legislative level. I share the following contentions for readers to think about.

（1）商业秘密刑事案件到底是为了解决企业之间的经济纠纷，还是为了维护竞争秩序、促进创新

1. Whether criminal cases involving trade secrets aim to resolve economic disputes between enterprises or to maintain competitive order and promote innovation

这个实务中的争议点，既是一个思想认识问题，也是业务实践问题。这个问题按照道理不应该产生，因为商业秘密刑事犯罪被规定在第三章破坏社会主义市场经济秩序罪，理应没有争议。

This contentious point in judicial practice is both a conceptual and a practical issue. In theory, this should not be a matter of debate, because trade secret crimes are categorised as crimes of disrupting the socialist market economic order in Chapter III of Criminal Law, which should be clear-cut.

然而，在具体案件办理时，仍有个别司法行政机关人员认为该罪是经济纠纷，认为其不应当插手，甚至建议权利人通过民事诉讼解决。这种观点至少会造成部分公安阶段的立案难，检察阶段产生畏难情绪，进而致使案件推进缓慢，直接构成商业秘密维权的挑战。

However, in handling specific cases, some judicial and administrative personnel still view these as economic disputes, believing that they should not intervene and even suggesting that the rights holders resolve the issue through civil litigation. This perspective can lead to difficulties in filing cases at the public security stage, reluctance at the prosecution stage and slow progress in case handling, directly resulting in challenges in enforcing trade secret rights.

我的团队相信，完善的商业秘密保护需求司法、行政机关上下对相关法律重新准确理解。

My team believes adequate trade secret protection needs a refreshed understanding of relevant laws throughout the judicial and administrative organs.

（2）商业秘密具体内容占侵权产品中的贡献率应如何计算

2. How to determine the contribution rate of the specific content of trade secrets in the infringing product

这个争议点既是计算涉案金额遇到的问题，也是涉及立案标准金额30万如何计算的问题。以技术类商业秘密为例，有些人认为应该从整体考虑，就是如果缺少相关涉案技术时还是否可行，换言之，该涉案技术是否是不可或缺的；有些人认为应该考虑该技术占整体技术的比例来计算；有些人认为应该以该技术是否可以独立为标准，进而判断其他设备或技术是否需要剥离；有些人认为应该以涉案技术本身的价值来计算。

This contentious point in judicial practice is the issue encountered when calculating the amount involved in the case. This problem is related to how the criminal case filing threshold amount of CNY300,000 should be calculated. Taking technical trade secrets as an example, some believe that the necessity of the trade secret should be taken into account, ie, whether the related technology is indispensable; some think the proportion of the technology in the overall technology should be considered; others suggest that the independence of the technology should be the standard, based on whether other equipment or technologies need to be separated; and some argue that the value of the technology itself should be the basis for calculation.

以上标准都有一定的合理性，但本人更赞成以整体考虑为原则进行计算。我的理由是，商业秘密犯罪本身归于经济秩序犯罪范畴，主要维护的是社会经济中商业主体的公平竞争，规制的行为是不得利用不正当手段进行竞争，它的本质更强调的是诚信经营和竞争秩序。同时，商业秘密的内容仅仅强调非公知性，不需要满足专利的新创性，所以其标准应很低，亦便于规制商业秘密侵权行为的显著危害性。商业秘密侵权行为一则造成市场竞争失衡，二则会极大增加管理成本，同时对于市场主体创新的积极性造成极大损害，

Each standard has its rationale, but I personally favour the necessity of trade secret approach. My reasoning is that, since trade secret crimes fall under the category of economic order crimes, they primarily aim to maintain fair competition among commercial entities in the economy, regulating behaviours that use unfair means for competition. The essence of these crimes emphasises honest business practices and competitive order. Moreover, the content of trade secrets only needs to be non-public, without having to meet the novelty and non-obviousness standards required for patents; thus, a rather low standard should be set to avoid significant potential harm caused by infringement acts. Trade secrets infringement acts not only cause an imbalance in market competition but also greatly increase management costs and severely damage the enthusiasm for innovation among market entities.

综上所述，商业秘密犯罪设立的本质就是从社会整体价值考虑，因此在计算损失或商业秘密价值的时候以整体考虑为妥，整体考虑的路径亦与促进公平竞争的立法目的相匹配。

Therefore, the establishment of trade secret crimes is essentially based on the overall social value, making it appropriate to consider the overall impact of the necessary trade secret when calculating losses or the value of trade secrets. I advocate holistic assessments to align with the law’s intent to protect fair competition.

（3）商业秘密的内容如何归纳

3. How to summarise the content of trade secrets

这个争议点聚焦中国法院的常见做法，将商业秘密的内容总结为所谓的“商业秘密点”（而这一概念在法律或非法律层面都没有明确的定义），而不是以更准确的商业秘密内容表述为准。

This point of contention is about the common practice in Chinese courts to summarise the content of trade secrets as so-called “trade secret points” (which have no clear non-legal or legal definition), rather than a more accurate description of the trade secret content.

本人非常不赞成所谓商业秘密点之概念，因为这会带来一系列问题。无论鉴定机构、评估机构以及司法机关都是以商业秘密点为判断，但商业秘密点如何定义？由于缺少相关法律规定，这就会造成更多的争议，比如：商业秘密点是以独立技术方案、或独立技术效果、或独立功能、还是以其他规范为判断标准？此外，尽管缺乏依据，评估机构也被要求以商业秘密点进行评估。

I strongly disapprove of the concept of trade secret points as it leads to a series of problems. Whether made by appraisal institutions, evaluation agencies or judicial authorities, judgements are made based on trade secret points, but how are these points defined? There are no relevant legal provisions, leading to more disputes. For example, are trade secret points judged by independent technical solutions, independent technical effects, independent functions or other criteria? Then, forensics evaluation agencies also assess the qualification of trade secrets based on trade secret points with no clear legal basis.

这也是造成上述第二个争议焦点的主要原因，试想如果以商业秘密点为标准进行评估，当然就会带来这个点的价值问题，使得难以、甚至无法从整体进行考量了。因此，个人认为商业秘密点的表述危害性非常大，应当尽快达成对商业秘密归纳标准的清晰共识。

To call back to the second contentious point mentioned above, if assessments of damage are based on trade secret points, such approach naturally raises the issue of the value of these points, making it difficult or impossible to consider the overall impact. Therefore, I believe the concept of trade secret points is highly problematic; clearer standards for summarisation of trade secrets are urgently needed.

基于我的团队办理的商业秘密案件经验，我们发现：90%的企业败诉并非因为法律不完善，而是因为缺乏系统化的保护策略。

Based on my team’s experience in handling trade secret cases, we have found the reason why 90% of corporates lose trade secret lawsuits is not due to inadequate laws but rather the lack of systematic protection strategies.

今年，企业商业秘密体系建设的服务需求增多。以往在此类专项中，无论是我们自身，还是同行、学术方面的相关的研究和经验也很多。然而，以往大多数的情况是，要么通过体系建设形成了大量的制度文本，却无法落地执行。如此难以执行的内部制度和规定难以帮助企业，企业在面对商业秘密侵权事件时仍然还在为完成起诉举证而头疼。团队在基于商业秘密诉讼服务经验和对商业秘密体系的深度解析和由下至上的分析后，终于创设了全新的商业秘密保护体系。脱胎于我们的专业经验，这一体系包括能够解决前述痛点难点的体系建设维度和工作方法。

This year, there has been an increasing demand for services in implementing corporate trade secret protection systems. In the past, my team, peers in the profession and academia have carried out extensive research and studies in this specialised area. However, conventional implementing approaches have generally resulted in a large number of institutional documents that cannot be enforced in daily operation, leaving implementation useless for trade secret protection purposes. Such unenforceable internal rules and regulations cannot help the companies, leaving them struggling with evidence collection for litigation when facing trade secret infringement incidents. After in-depth observation and bottom-to-top analysis of trade secret infringement incidents, my team finally invented a new trade secret protection system framework. Born from our professional experience, this brand-new systematic framework and working methodology addresses these pain points and challenges.

在这一全新体系中，我们从确权管理、维权管理、权限管理、风险管理、外披管理五个维度进行商业秘密体系建设的整体思考和设计，使体系建设能够全面。通过实际工作场景为切入点，运用自下而上的工作方式，为企业设计建设和完善的制度和执行操作文本，让每一条文本都能够融入场景，为每一操作人在工作中实际应用，以确保可落地执行。

In the new framework, we divide trade secret protection system implementation into five dimensions: rights confirmation management, rights protection management, access control management, risk management and external disclosure management. This ensures a comprehensive and holistic design for the system. By using actual work scenarios as starting points and adopting a bottom-up approach, we design and refine operational documents for enterprises. Our implementation ensures that each provision is integrated into real-world scenarios and can be applied in practice by every employee.

我们的成功经验已经证明新的商业秘密体系建设消除了原有体系建设中的制度文本难以有效执行的问题。我们提出的五维体系，针对每个维度帮助企业构建从预防到应对的全周期防护机制。企业商业秘密体系建设将在每一个维度的不断打磨中而趋于完善。

Our successful experience has proved that such implementation eliminated the ineffectiveness of the institutional documents created by conventional approaches. Our proposed five-dimensional trade secret protection system implementation approach assists enterprises in building a full-cycle protection system from prevention to response. While we are still polishing each dimension, the whole trade secret protection system implemented by us will continue to evolve and mature.

上述体系思维和工作方法为企业打造体系的同时，也需要我的团队成员有更为有效、高效的工作技能，也启发我的团队发现提升每位律师的实战技能的管理方式。于是，我们精心打磨了42个标准业务场景，这些场景覆盖了我们工作包括每一步骤和每一阶段的方方面面，让所有法律服务高效、全面、可靠，也让我们的团队在实现愿景的路上更进一步——“成为顶尖的知识产权律师团队，做客户创新路上最信赖的伙伴”。

This innovative framework requires my team to have more effective and more efficient working skills; meanwhile, this framework also inspires my team to invent new ways to obtain such working skills. To this end, we have meticulously crafted 42 standard practice scenarios that cover every step or stage of our daily jobs. These scenarios enable all legal services to be efficient, comprehensive and reliable, bringing my team one step closer to realising our vision: “To be the very best team of intellectual property attorneys and the most trustworthy companion of clients on their march to innovation.”

维护商业秘密的本质就是打造公平竞争的社会环境，为迎接创新、拥抱创新和提升创新提供制度保障；而我们团队的使命就是推动公平竞争，保护真正的创新者。伴随我们的努力与热忱，中国的商业秘密保护也必将越来越好。

The essence of protecting trade secrets lies in creating a fair and competitive societal environment, providing institutional safeguards while welcoming, embracing and enhancing innovation. My team’s mission is to promote fair competition and protect true innovators. With efforts such as these, the protection of trade secrets in China will undoubtedly continue to improve.