Research On The Civil Legal Protection Of Trade Secret Right

Being confidential, valuable and original are the three essential elements that characterize trade secret. In an age of intellectual economy, it is theoretically and practically feasible to put trade secret under the protection of intellectual property though it is by no means the only subsidiary right in intellectual property that bears its specific characteristics. Compared with the three traditional intellectual property rights, namely, patent right, trademark right and copyright, trade secret right is different in its relative exclusiveness, the conplexity and compatibility of the subject, the uncertainty of its expire and the risk of its protection. To prevent the improper expansion of trade secret right, we should strictly confine it to two aspects, namely, the exercise of others' rights and the protection of public interests. The infringement of trade secret right is usually regarded as the normal case of right infringement, to which the principle of liability for wrong is applied. The infringement of trade secret right, which can be classified into four categories, is untenable unless it simutaneously possesses four elements: illegality of behavior, fact of infringement, causal relation between behavior and infringement, and the fault. China should also introduce the concept of trade secret imminent infringement to its legislation. The paper, with a consideration of the problems arising fromjudicial practice, intends to elucidate trade secret right in terms of the burden of proof, determination of the third party's infringement, influence of limit to competition on the determination of infringement and the determination of infringement on the list of customers.