On February 28, 2026, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the Regulations on the Protection of Trade Secrets (商业秘密保护规定). The Regulations provide for an administrative enforcement mechanism for trade secret protection in addition to or in alternative to civil litigation and criminal enforcement. While damages are not available under the Regulations, injunctions and fines of up to 5 million RMB are. The Regulations go into effect June 1, 2026. A translation follows. The original text is available here …
Category: Trade Secrets
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Typical Cases of Unfair Competition in 2025 Covering Trademarks, Trade Secrets and AI Model Weights
On September 7, 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Typical Anti-Unfair Competition Cases of the People’s Courts in 2025 (2025年人民法院反不正当竞争典型案例目录). The SPC releases typical cases to ensure that different Chinese courts apply the same laws and principles in a consistent and predictable manner despite China’s legal system not being based on common law. These Typical Cases were released in conjunction with the 2025 China Fair Competition Policy Publicity Week running from September 8 to September 12 and cover …
Beijing E-Town (Yitang) Sues Applied Materials for Trade Secret Theft Requesting 99.99 Million RMB
On August 14, 2025, Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (北京屹唐半导体科技股份有限公司) announced in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) that the Beijing Intellectual Property Court has accepted its complaint against Applied Materials (AMAT) for trade secret infringement and appropriating patent application rights. E-Town is requesting damages of 99.99 million RMB. E-Town alleges that AMAT hired two of its subsidiary’s employees and then filed a patent application disclosing its trade secrets with the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration.
China’s Supreme People’s Court Limits Non-Competes to be Consistent with Employee Access to Trade Secrets
On August 1, 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of Law in the Trial of Labor Dispute Cases (II)(最高人民法院关于审理劳动争议案件适用法律问题的解释(二)). The Interpretation states that if an employee is not aware of or exposed to the employer’s trade secrets and confidential matters related to intellectual property, even if an employer and employee have agreed upon a non-compete clause, the non-compete clause will not take effect and will not be binding on …