Court Hands Down Milestone Ruling on Trade Secrets

A Shanghai court recently issued the country's first ban on the circulation of trade secrets.

A US Drug Company filed the lawsuit with Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court against a former employee surnamed Huang for violating the company's confidentiality agreement. Huang downloaded 21 documents containing the company's business secrets without authorization and was discovered later.

The court judged in favor of the company, the first ruling of its kind under a revised Civil Procedure Law enacted on Jan 1, 2013.

The civil ruling from the Shanghai court will be precedent for imposing a ban on circulation of trade secrets nationwide. It marks a significant step toward bringing the nation in line with advanced international practices.

(Source: China IP Magazine)