Trade Secrets Legal Protection

Trade secret is the achievement by way of human intellect and science motion, which agglomerate human creation and intellect. It is a kind of labor product of immateriality conformation and also a kind of special intellectual property right. Under the epoch background of which "technique" is life and information is money, the competition that between corporations have increasingly evolved the chasing exploitation and possession of the new technique and management information including trade secret. Trade secret have increasingly become the key factor of competitions. People gradually intense realized that the infraction of important trade secrete must greatly destroy the corporations. Now trade secret has become an international problem which is arousing general attention all over the world and some international organizations such as International Commerce Chamber, World Intellectual Property Right Organization and World Trade Organization, etc. In our country, on account of execution of Unfair Competition Law, trade secret have been the new hotspot of judicature protection, which trade secret was unacquainted to countrymen before 1993. Trade secret is not similar to the traditional intellectual property right, it has its own unique properties. Just because the reasons mentioned above, it isn't attained the direct protection of intellectual property right. Additionally, owing to the reinforcement of the global economic similarity trend and the development of Internet communication technique, trade secret protection has encountered much challenge that has never before. So it is necessary and urgent to research by means of laws.The modern meaning of trade secret protection law come of U.K. and U.S.A, and gradually broaden to all over the world scope. By almost two centuries accumulation experience, developed countries have concluded considerable trade secret protection theories and practices. It is worthy of us to study and refer the experience mentioned above. This paper start with comparing trade secret and traditional intellectual property right, on the base of specific law orientation of trade secret, we introduce, compare and appraise some representational kinds of law theories and some judicature practices about trade secret protection present in developed countries. Connecting to the new characteristics of Internet society we also survey the legal system course and actuality of trade secret protection in our country.This article is composed of five sections. The section is foreword, which discussed the status of trade secret protection and the necessity and urgency for research.The second section is the definition and characteristics of trade secret. Combining to the trade secret that was defined by the various representative countries and international organizations, we argue the connotation and extension of definition of trade secret. The characteristics of trade secret are also received through comparing with traditional intellectual property right.The third section expatiates and evaluates the theories and practices about trade secret protection of main countries in the world, including property right theory, contract theory, pirate theory, and unfair competition theory. The representative country includes U.S.A, U.K. and Japan.The forth section is the trade secret protection under the circumstance of Internet. We analysis the characteristics of Internetspace and its influence of trade secret protection, also the responded measures are put forward.The last section is the status and perfect of trade secret protection law in our country. The perfect means particular include: positively construct multivariate and systematic protect systems by means of contract law protection, pirate law protection, competition law protection, etc. we combined to the traditional intellectual property right protection, which result in the powerful form of intellectual property right system and the advice of legislation...