Cai Chuanzi
Trade secret protection is an inherent requirement for creating an innovative environment, as well as an external manifestation of coping with the pressure of international intellectual property protection. Currently, China has established a legal framework for trade secret protection, which is based on the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, supplemented by other laws and administrative regulations, departmental regulations and judicial interpretations. This signals the fundamental status of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law in this fi eld. However, for the past few years, Chinese companies have been attacked by competitors on the grounds of infringing trade secrets when dealing with competition and challenges from foreign counterparts in different fields. China’s trade secret protection mechanism still faces problems that need to be addressed. It is necessary to balance the relationship between secret protection and free competition based on the fundamental positioning of competition law. Considering the public interest in the trade secret system, the law should emphasize the competitive significance of technical reverse engineering. More importantly, regulations should allow secrets to withdraw from the market and be reused when they lose their economic value, thereby encouraging technological innovation and fair competition.
内容提要：商业秘密保护不仅是营造良好营商和创新环境的内在要求，也是应对国际知识产权保护压力的外在体现。当前我国基本形成了以《反不正当竞争法》为主、以 其他法律和行政法规为辅、以部门规章和司法解释为补充的商业秘密保护法律体系，这 对于确立《反不正当竞争法》在该领域的基础性地位具有重大意义。但是，在过去一段 时期内，中国企业在面对不同领域国外同行的竞争与挑战时，被竞争对手以侵犯商业秘 密为由进行打击。因此，商业秘密保护制度及其配套体系还面临诸多亟待解决的问题。 完善商业秘密保护制度，须基于竞争法保护的基础性定位，通过平衡秘密保护与自由竞 争之间的关系以解决商业秘密制度中利益保护的结构性失衡问题，强调技术性反向工程 的竞争性意义、允许秘密在丧失经济价值时退出市场及被再利用，由此鼓励技术创新和 公平竞争。