Peer to Peer Exchange on Enforcement of Trade Secrets
IP Key and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) held a workshop on the “Enforcement of Trade Secrets" in Beijing on June 12, 2014, hosted by SAIC.
The workshop was conceived in the framework of a peer-to-peer exchange exercise between Chinese and European experts on a range of topics concerning the current set of measures and instruments to protect trade secrets from violations and abuses.
In a one day session of technical presentations and interactive discussions, two panels of experts entered into the details of the Chinese and the European enforcement systems, addressing several topics from a comparative perspective, which included:
- The legal constitutive elements of trade secrets’ protection and enforcement
- The burden of proof in court and administrative proceedings
- The calculation of damages
- The preservation of confidentiality during enforcement proceedings
- The role of technical experts in court and administrative enforcement proceedings
- The criminal thresholds
- The coordination between enforcing agencies.
The workshop was structured in two sessions, addressing the features of the Chinese system in the morning and of the European system in the afternoon part. Extensive Q&A sessions took place during and after the main speakers’ presentations.
The two panels of speakers included University professors and scholars, law practitioners, government officials, and judges. Please see the attached agenda for additional references.
The discussions enjoyed very lively participation and productive exchanges took place. The attendees showed particular interest in the criteria for the evaluation of damages (losses-profits), the enforcement of confidentiality agreements, and the burden of evidence, among others.
The discussions and exchanges highlighted that extensive common ground exists between Chinese and European experts in terms of understanding the gaps and necessity for improvement in the current Chinese trade secrets’ enforcement system. SAIC and IP Key agreed on sharing a best practice document that will be taken into consideration for future legislative reforms.