Regulations on the Protection of Trade Secrets

(Issued by Order No. 126 of the State Administration for Market Regulation on February 24, 2026; Effective as of June 1, 2026)

Article 1

These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Anti-Unfair Competition Law) for the purposes of strengthening the protection of trade secrets and maintaining a market order of fair competition.

Article 2

When obtaining, disclosing, using, or permitting others to use trade secrets, a business operator shall follow the principles of voluntariness, equality, fairness, and good faith, comply with laws, regulations, rules and business ethics, and participate in market competition fairly.

For the purpose of these Regulations, a “business operator” means a natural person, legal person, or unincorporated organization engaged in the production or operation of commodities or the provision of services (for the purposes hereof, commodities include services).

Article 3

The State Administration for Market Regulation shall be responsible for organizing and guiding the administrative protection of trade secrets nationwide.

Local market regulation departments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the administrative protection of trade secrets within their respective administrative regions.

Cases involving technical secrets shall generally be under the jurisdiction of market regulation departments at or above the municipal level with districts. Where necessary for work and upon approval of the State Administration for Market Regulation, such cases may also be under the jurisdiction of county-level market regulation departments with corresponding law enforcement capabilities.

Article 4

Market regulation departments shall guide business operators in establishing and sound trade secret protection systems, enhance their awareness and capacity for trade secret protection, and promote the overall improvement of trade secret protection through publicity and interpretation, special training, and other means.

Business operators are encouraged to establish and improve their trade secret protection and management systems, and take effective measures to strengthen internal control and compliance management of confidential elements based on their own industry characteristics, technical requirements, competitive advantages, etc., so as to prevent and stop acts infringing upon trade secrets. Business operators are encouraged to innovate forms of trade secret protection and strengthen such protection through certification, evidence preservation, and other methods.

Industry associations shall strengthen self‑regulation, and guide and regulate business operators in their industries to compete in accordance with the law and maintain market competition order by formulating industry-specific trade secret protection norms and compliance guidelines.

Article 5

For the purpose of these Regulations, “trade secrets” means technical information, operational information, and other commercial information that is not known to the public, has commercial value, and for which the right holder has adopted corresponding confidentiality measures.

Information related to technology such as structures, raw materials, formulas, materials, samples, styles, processes, methods, data, algorithms, computer programs, and codes shall fall under the “technical information” mentioned in the first paragraph.

Information related to operational activities such as creativity, management, sales, finance, plans, samples, and customer information and data shall fall under the “operational information” mentioned in the first paragraph. Customer information includes the customer’s name, address, contact information, as well as transaction habits, intentions, contents, and other information.

Article 6

For the purpose of these Regulations, “not known to the public” means that, at the time of the alleged infringement of trade secrets, the relevant commercial information is not generally known or readily accessible to relevant persons in the field to which it belongs.

A commercial information shall be deemed known to the public under any of the following circumstances:

(1) The information is common general knowledge or industry practice in the relevant field;

(2) The information merely involves simple combinations of product dimensions, structures, materials, components, etc., and can be directly obtained by relevant persons in the field through observing marketed products;

(3) The information has been publicly disclosed in published publications or other media;

(4) The information has been made public through public lectures, exhibitions, or other means;

(5) The information can be obtained by relevant persons in the field from other public sources.

New information formed by sorting out, improving, or processing commercial information that is known to the public shall be deemed “not known to the public” if it meets the provisions of the first paragraph.

Article 7

For the purpose of these Regulations, “having commercial value” means that the commercial information has actual or potential value and can bring the right holder commercial benefits or competitive advantages such as asset increase, operating income or profit growth, user base growth, cost reduction, shorter R&D time, more transaction opportunities, and improved business reputation or product reputation.

Phased results formed in production and operation activities, or failed experimental data, technical solutions, etc., that meet the provisions of the first paragraph shall be deemed to have commercial value.

Article 8

For the purpose of these Regulations, a “right holder” means the owner of a trade secret and the licensee or authorized person of the trade secret licensed or authorized by the owner.

Article 9

For the purpose of these Regulations, the “right holder has adopted corresponding confidentiality measures” means that the right holder has taken reasonable confidentiality measures appropriate to the nature of the trade secret and its carrier, the commercial value of the trade secret, and other factors to prevent the disclosure of the trade secret.

Any of the following shall be deemed corresponding confidentiality measures adopted by the right holder:

(1) Signing a confidentiality agreement or stipulating confidentiality obligations in a contract;

(2) Imposing confidentiality requirements on current and former employees, suppliers, customers, visitors, and other persons who may access or obtain trade secrets through establishing rules and regulations, conducting training, giving written notice, etc.;

(3) Prohibiting or restricting access to, or implementing differentiated management of, confidential production and operation premises such as factories, workshops, laboratories, and offices;

(4) Adopting technical confidentiality measures such as permission grading, data desensitization, and operation log recording for scenarios such as remote work and cross-border collaboration;

(5) Implementing differentiated management of trade secrets and their carriers by marking, classification, isolation, encryption, sealing, and restricting the scope of persons who may access or obtain them;

(6) Prohibiting or restricting the use, access, storage, and copying of computer equipment, network equipment, storage devices, etc., that may access or obtain trade secrets;

(7) Requiring departing employees to register, return, clear, or destroy trade secrets and their carriers accessed or obtained by them, and to continue to bear confidentiality obligations;

(8) Adopting other reasonable confidentiality measures.

Article 10

A business operator shall not obtain a right holder’s trade secrets by theft, bribery, fraud, coercion, electronic intrusion, or other improper means.

Any of the following shall be deemed an “improper means” under these Regulations:

(1) Without authorization or beyond the scope of authorization, unauthorized access to, possession of, or copying of carriers such as documents, articles, materials, and raw materials controlled by the right holder that contain or from which trade secrets may be derived;

(2) Bribing, coercing, or defrauding current or former employees of the right holder or other entities or individuals to obtain trade secrets by providing property or other pecuniary benefits, making personal threats, etc.;

(3) Without authorization or beyond the scope of authorization, unauthorized access to the right holder’s digital office systems, servers, email accounts, cloud drives, application accounts, etc., or obtaining trade secrets through technical means such as installing malicious programs or exploiting vulnerabilities;

(4) After the expiration of authorization or beyond the scope or term of authorization, unauthorized downloading or transmission of trade secrets to network storage spaces such as email accounts and cloud drives or electronic devices not controlled by the right holder;

(5) Other improper means of obtaining a right holder’s trade secrets.

Article 11

A business operator shall not disclose, use, or permit others to use a right holder’s trade secrets obtained by improper means.

For the purpose of these Regulations, “disclose” means leaking trade secrets to a third party other than the right holder, or making trade secrets public so that they become generally known or readily accessible to relevant persons.

For the purpose of these Regulations, “use” means directly using trade secrets, using them after modification or improvement, or adjusting or improving relevant production and operation activities based on trade secrets.

Article 12

A business operator shall not, in breach of confidentiality obligations or the right holder’s requirements for keeping trade secrets confidential, disclose, use, or permit others to use the trade secrets in its possession.

Confidentiality obligations or the right holder’s requirements for keeping trade secrets confidential generally include the following circumstances:

(1) Agreements on the confidentiality of trade secrets in labor contracts, confidentiality contracts, sales contracts, and other contracts;

(2) In the absence of contractual agreement, the obligation to keep trade secrets confidential in accordance with the principle of good faith based on the nature and purpose of the contract, transaction practices, business ethics, etc.;

(3) The right holder imposes confidentiality requirements on relevant subjects that have knowledge of the trade secrets, including but not limited to those who obtain knowledge through contractual relations or through participation in R&D, production, inspection, certification, and other activities;

(4) In the absence of contractual agreement, the right holder explicitly imposes confidentiality requirements on current and former employees, partners, etc., through rules and regulations or reasonable confidentiality measures;

(5) Other circumstances where confidentiality obligations exist or the right holder has put forward confidentiality requirements.

Article 13

A business operator shall not abet, induce, or assist others to obtain, disclose, use, or permit others to use a right holder’s trade secrets in breach of confidentiality obligations or the right holder’s requirements for keeping trade secrets confidential.

Any of the following shall be deemed an act of abetting, inducing, or assisting others to infringe upon trade secrets:

(1) Instigating or directing others to infringe upon trade secrets expressly or impliedly;

(2) Inducing others to infringe upon trade secrets expressly or impliedly through material rewards or non‑material rewards such as promises of positions;

(3) Providing convenience such as funds, technology, and equipment to others while knowing or should have known that they are infringing upon trade secrets;

(4) Other acts of abetting, inducing, or assisting others to infringe upon trade secrets.

Article 14

Any natural person, legal person, or unincorporated organization other than business operators that commits any illegal act specified in Articles 10 to 13 of these Regulations shall be deemed to have infringed upon trade secrets.

A third party that obtains, discloses, uses, or permits others to use trade secrets while knowing or should have known that current or former employees, partners, or other entities or individuals of the trade secret right holder have committed any illegal act specified in Articles 10 to 13 of these Regulations shall be deemed to have infringed upon trade secrets.

In determining whether a third party knows or should have known, comprehensive consideration shall be given to factors such as the confidentiality level of the relevant commercial information, the reasonableness of the access channels and methods, transaction prices, the relationship between the third party and the trade secret right holder, and industry practices.

Article 15

The following acts shall generally not be deemed acts of infringing upon trade secrets:

(1) Independent discovery or independent research and development;

(2) Obtaining relevant technical information of a product by disassembling, mapping, analyzing, etc., a product obtained from public sources;

(3) Former employees of the trade secret right holder conducting work using general knowledge, skills, and industry experience accumulated during employment, or industry information available from public sources;

(4) Disclosing trade secrets to state organs, statutory institutions performing administrative functions, and their staff in accordance with the law for purposes such as exposing illegal and criminal acts and safeguarding national security and public interests;

(5) Other acts that do not constitute infringement of trade secrets.

Article 16

All organizations and individuals are encouraged, supported, and protected in conducting social supervision over acts infringing upon trade secrets. Market regulation departments shall keep confidential the information of informants and organizations and individuals assisting in the investigation and punishment of acts infringing upon trade secrets.

Article 17

A right holder who believes its trade secrets have been infringed upon may report to the market regulation department.

When reporting, the right holder shall provide preliminary evidence proving that its commercial information constitutes trade secrets and specific clues indicating the alleged infringement of such trade secrets, and shall be responsible for the authenticity of the reporting content. Market regulation departments may require the informant to supplement reporting materials as needed for work.

No organization or individual may fabricate facts of trade secret infringement to frame others, commit extortion, or abuse the right to report to disrupt market competition order and market regulation order.

Article 18

Preliminary evidence that a right holder’s commercial information constitutes trade secrets generally includes the following:

(1) The formation process and time of the commercial information;

(2) That the commercial information is not known to the public or does not fall under any circumstance listed in the second paragraph of Article 6 of these Regulations;

(3) The commercial value of the commercial information;

(4) Confidentiality measures adopted by the right holder for the commercial information;

(5) Other evidence proving that the right holder’s commercial information constitutes trade secrets.

The following clues may generally serve as specific clues indicating the alleged infringement of trade secrets:

(1) Clues showing that the alleged infringer has channels or opportunities to access the trade secrets;

(2) Clues showing that the confidentiality measures for the trade secrets have been undermined by the alleged infringer through improper means;

(3) Clues showing that the trade secrets have been actually obtained by the alleged infringer;

(4) Clues showing that the trade secrets have been disclosed or used by the alleged infringer, or are at risk of being disclosed or used;

(5) Other clues indicating that the trade secrets have been infringed upon by the alleged infringer.

Article 19

After receiving reporting clues, market regulation departments shall verify them in accordance with the law and decide whether to file a case.

A case shall be filed upon verification if the following conditions are met:

(1) There is preliminary evidence proving the existence of an act infringing upon trade secrets that shall be subject to administrative punishment in accordance with the law;

(2) The case falls within the jurisdiction of the department;

(3) The case is within the statutory time limit for imposing administrative punishment.

Article 20

Alleged infringers, interested parties, and other relevant entities and individuals shall truthfully provide relevant materials or information to market regulation departments.

Where there is evidence proving that the information used by the alleged infringer is substantially identical to the trade secrets claimed by the right holder and that the alleged infringer had access to the trade secrets, the market regulation department may find that the alleged infringer has committed an act infringing upon trade secrets, unless there is evidence proving that the information used by the alleged infringer was legally obtained or used.

Article 21

Market regulation departments and their staff shall bear the statutory obligation to keep confidential trade secrets learned during the investigation, and shall not illegally disclose, use, or permit others to use the right holder’s trade secrets.

When market regulation departments publicly disclose administrative penalty decisions in accordance with the law, they shall not disclose content involving trade secrets.

Article 22

The right holder and the alleged infringer may entrust a legally qualified appraisal institution to appraise specialized matters such as whether the right holder’s information is known to the public and whether the information used by the alleged infringer is substantially identical to the right holder’s information, or entrust a person with professional knowledge to issue professional opinions on the above matters, and submit the appraisal results or professional opinions to the market regulation department.

Article 23

When investigating alleged acts of infringing upon trade secrets, market regulation departments may take the following measures:

(1) Entering and inspecting business premises where the alleged infringement of trade secrets has occurred;

(2) Questioning the investigated alleged infringer, interested parties, and other relevant entities and individuals, and requiring them to explain relevant situations or provide other materials related to the investigated act;

(3) Inquiring about and copying agreements, account books, receipts, documents, records, business correspondence, and other materials related to the alleged infringement of trade secrets;

(4) Sealing up and detaining property related to the alleged infringement of trade secrets;

(5) Inquiring about bank accounts of business operators suspected of infringing upon trade secrets.

Taking the measures specified in the first paragraph shall require a written report to and approval from the principal person in charge of the market regulation department. Taking the measures specified in items (4) and (5) of the first paragraph shall require a written report to and approval from the principal person in charge of the market regulation department at or above the municipal level with districts.

Market regulation departments and their staff shall avoid or minimize impacts on the normal production and operation activities of business operators when conducting investigations or requesting assistance in investigations in accordance with the law.

Article 24

Anyone who infringes upon trade secrets in violation of these Regulations shall be ordered by the market regulation department at or above the county level to stop the illegal act, have its illegal gains confiscated, and be fined not less than RMB 100,000 but not more than RMB 1,000,000 in accordance with Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1,000,000 but not more than RMB 5,000,000 shall be imposed.

Article 25

When ordering the suspension of illegal acts in accordance with Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the period of such order shall generally last until the relevant commercial information no longer constitutes trade secrets.

An order to stop illegal acts generally includes:

(1) Ordering the infringer to stop using the right holder’s trade secrets, unless the right holder agrees otherwise;

(2) Ordering the infringer to return or destroy the carriers of the trade secrets to the right holder;

(3) Ordering the infringer to destroy infringing products or semi-finished products containing trade secrets, unless the right holder agrees to other disposal methods such as acquisition or sale;

(4) Ordering the infringer to delete the right holder’s trade secrets obtained by it;

(5) Other orders to stop infringing acts against the right holder’s trade secrets.

Article 26

Any of the following shall be deemed “serious circumstances” as mentioned in Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law:

(1) Causing relatively large direct losses to the right holder;

(2) Causing a material adverse impact on the production and operation activities of the right holder;

(3) Endangering national interests or public interests;

(4) Committing another act of infringing upon trade secrets within two years after being subject to administrative punishment for trade secret infringement;

(5) Other serious circumstances.

Article 27

Anyone who violates these Regulations and is suspected of committing a crime shall be transferred to the judicial organ for criminal liability in accordance with the law.

Article 28

Where commercial information referred to in these Regulations constitutes state secrets, it shall be protected in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets.

Article 29

Acts of infringing upon trade secrets committed outside the territory of the People’s Republic of China that disrupt the domestic market competition order and harm the legitimate rights and interests of domestic business operators shall be handled in accordance with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and relevant laws.

Article 30

Where laws or administrative regulations provide that other departments shall conduct supervision and inspection over acts infringing upon trade secrets, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 31

These Regulations shall come into force on June 1, 2026. The Several Provisions on Prohibiting Infringement upon Trade Secrets issued by Order No. 41 of the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce on November 23, 1995 shall be repealed simultaneously.