Balance Of Interests In The Protection Of Trade Secrets Law

This article observes the trade secret law of our country in a macroscopical view of the balance of interests. It summarizes four couples conflicts of interests in the trade secret protection. The first is the conflict between the monopoly interest of the trade secret owner and the public interest of the society. The second is the conflict between the trade secret prior user's interest and the subsequent patentee's interest. The third is the interest conflict between the employer as a trade secret owner and the employee who knows the trade secret. The fourth is the interest conflict between the advanced country and the developing country.The balance between the private right of the trade secret owner and the public interest is a primary rule which determines the proneness of the trade secret legislation. Thus, the law takes a limited protection for trade secret. The balance of interests also direct the design of the detailed provisions, such as the qualifications of a trade secret, the legal means and the illegal means of obtaining a trade secret, the confirming of a tort of trade secret and the distribution of the onus probandi. In general, the protection of trade secret is a reasonable arrangement and distribution of trade secret owner's interest and the public interest.As the protection of trade secret and the protection of patent have its own characteristics, the trade secret owner will choose the appropriate manner to protect their interests. After they choose the protection manner, there may be an interest conflict between the trade secret prior user and the subsequent patentee. The second chapter dissertates how to harmonize their interest conflict through the prior user system. In order to avoid the catastrophic impact to the patent system, the prior user system restricts the qualifications and the scope of the prior user.The third chapter introduces the interest conflict between the employer and the employee in the confidentiality agreement and the non-competition promise. Both agreements may affect the flow of the person with ability and the employee's freedom of choosing jobs. So while signing these agreements, the rights and the duties of both parties must be equal.The fourth chapter discusses the interest conflict between the countries in the international protection of trade secret, especially between the developing countries and the advanced countries. Because of different levels of economy, they have...