What are business secrets? What are the requirements for a business secret? If the requirements for proving trade secrets cannot be clearly stated, is there any chance of success in the lawsuit?

In the protection of business secrets, if the three elements of evidence (secrecy, economic value, and reasonable confidentiality measures) cannot be clearly proved, it will have an impact on the chances of winning the criminal lawsuit. Such a situation may make it difficult to obtain legal protection for infringements involving trade secrets.

Trade secret protection in criminal proceedings: The challenge of winning

Trade secrets are one of the core assets of a company, and their protection is critical to a company's success and competitive advantage. In terms of protecting business secrets, criminal litigation can provide powerful legal means, but to win in criminal litigation, you must be able to clearly prove the three elements of business secrets, namely confidentiality, economic value and reasonable confidentiality measures. However, sometimes it is not easy to clearly prove these elements, which will challenge the chances of winning a criminal prosecution.

(1) Confidentiality: In criminal proceedings, proving the confidentiality of business secrets is a very critical link. The court needs to confirm whether the information is known to others other than those generally involved in that type of information. However, since business secrets are often only known to a small number of employees or top management, proving confidentiality may face the problem of insufficient evidence. In addition, competitors may deny that the information is confidential, making it difficult for a court to determine the truth.

(2) Economic value: Proving the economic value of business secrets is also challenging. The value of trade secrets may change over time, and courts will need to determine whether the information has actual or potential economic benefit to the business. If sufficient evidence cannot be provided to support that value, the court may not be able to determine the importance of the trade secret, which may affect the verdict.

(3) Reasonable confidentiality measures: The last element is to ensure that the owner has taken reasonable confidentiality measures to protect business secrets. This includes whether the company has implemented appropriate confidentiality agreements, information security systems and employee training. However, in some cases, a business may not be able to fully justify its confidentiality measures, particularly if competitors claim that the business did not take adequate measures.

Due to the difficulty of protecting trade secrets, sometimes businesses may prefer to choose civil litigation or other alternatives to protect their interests. In civil litigation, a lighter standard of liability may make it easier to prove elements. In addition, companies may choose to protect their trade secrets by entering into settlement agreements with infringing parties, thereby avoiding lengthy legal proceedings.

In summary, failure to clearly prove the three elements of business secrets may challenge the chances of winning a criminal prosecution. In such circumstances, businesses should evaluate other legal means to protect trade secrets and seek professional legal advice to ensure that their interests are best protected. In addition, continuing to strengthen the internal confidentiality culture and related confidentiality measures will help reduce the risk of leakage of business secrets and maintain the long-term competitiveness of the company.

Most recent interpretations of "reasonable confidentiality measures" are as follows: "The owner of a trade secret has made reasonable efforts to prevent others from easily obtaining, using or disclosing the trade secret, that is,It is sufficient that the owner of a business secret has a subjective intention to protect it and has objectively taken measures to keep it confidential, but it is not necessary for the person to keep the secret confidential to the extent that "nothing is revealed". In other words, if the owner of a business secret can achieve the purpose of keeping it confidential by using methods or techniques that are generally possible in society, based on the nature of his or her human and financial resources and business information, and in a manner that is not easily accessible to anyone, then it is deemed to be "conforming" Reasonable confidentiality measures”(Intellectual Property Court Criminal Judgment No. 11 of the 105th Criminal Appeal, Criminal Judgment No. 14 of the Criminal Appeal of 107, Criminal Judgment No. 24 of the Criminal Appeal of 2010, Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 1608 of 108 No. Criminal Judgment Reference)

It should be noted that some of the above practical insights also emphasize that although the confidentiality measures taken by everyone do not need to be "watertight", they stillMust be "valid"Only in this way can the confidentiality of its information be maintained, andEmphasizing that the signing of a confidentiality agreement should not be used as the only criterion for determining "reasonable confidentiality measures", and attempts to outline the outline of reasonable confidentiality measures with examples, it is also worth referring to: "…For example: control those who have access to the business secret, mark documents with "confidential" or "restricted reading", lock the information on the business secret, set a password, and take security measures (such as restricting access to visitors) (stored in a confidential place), etc., and whether reasonable confidentiality measures have been taken, it is not necessary to sign a confidentiality agreement. If the owner of the business secret has objectively performed certain behaviors to make people understand that he has used the information as a business It is sufficient to protect the confidentiality of the information and control the information in a way that makes it difficult to be accessed at will. On the contrary, if a confidentiality agreement is signed, anyone can easily access the information. Even if a confidentiality agreement is signed, it will be difficult. The owner of the trade secret has taken reasonable measures to keep it confidential” (Refer to the Criminal Judgment No. 24 of the Intellectual Property Court in 107 Xingzhi Appeal).

Further reading:What should I do if an employee takes away company confidential information? Relevant provisions of the Trade Secrets Act.

Further reading:What should I do if a trademark infringement occurs? Legal measures that can be taken.

Further reading:What is patent litigation? What is the process of patent litigation?

The lawyers of our firm have focused on the fields of trade secret protection and information security for many years. They have represented many companies in many trade secret litigation cases, and have assisted many companies in reviewing information security levels and building information security systems. They have rich practical experience. , and work closely with information security consultants to provide the highest quality legal services based on rich experience.

Fidelity Law Firm – Business Secrets Specialist Lawyers
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