On The Coordination Between Business Secret Protection Of Customer List And The Protection Of The Personal Information In The List

The advancement of technology and development of society and economy created a new type of customer lists that different from the traditional one and contain more complex and more valuable personal information. Practice has proved that this kind of customer list have significant economic value. However, due to it contains large amounts information of natural person, when the owner of client list collect and use of its personal information, it will come to be some conflict of rights. There have been similar cases abroad. The Subject of personal information was opposed to the secondary transfer of the client list, which included personal information. The question of how to realize the coordination between business secret protection of customer list and the protection of the personal information in the list involving many aspects of civil law, having great value both for theoretical study and practical. Based on the field of civil law and by comparing the legal protection and theoretical research achievement of customer list and personal information in domestic and international, this paper focus on and discuss some of the basic issues of the customer list and personal information in order to be helpful for solving this issue.This paper argues that when discuss how to protect client list containing personal information, should start from two dimensions: First, to protect personal information in the customer lists, and the second is how to protect client list containing personal information. The first dimension is to explore the basic concepts, formation, legal attributes and right belongs of personal information; the second dimension is to resolve the right conflicts that may exist between the body of information and the owner of customer lists. Therefore, this paper is divided into three parts:The first part of this article raises the question that the conflicts exists between trade secret protection of the client list and the protection of personal information contained in the list. This chapter focuses on the customer lists, personal information and new types of customer list, which contains personal information of customers, noting that the personal information contained in the list of customers need legal protection for its particularity. And pointed out that the root of confliction is that the obligee of customer list trying to exercise control and transfer right of the trade secrets which containing personal information through trade secret law, that directly affect the protection of personal information.The second part show clearly the direction of the settlement of the conflict is to re-examine the legal nature of the personal information. Scholars attributed some doctrines of the legal nature of the personal information, such as “Property Right Object”, “Privacy Right Object” and “Personality Right Object.” This section comments separately for these types of doctrines, and believe that in order to straighten out the conflict of rights, the personal information should be incorporated into the general personality object. Personal information is the presence of both forms of personal interests and property interests. The theory of general personality object can accommodate personal interests and the economic interests of personal information. The client list containing personal information is an object having both of personal attribute and property attribute.The third section presents the resolution of the conflict is to sort out the rights and obligations of the owner of customer list and individuals of the personal information. This paper argues that the nature person in customer list enjoy their right for their information, included the right to know it, to change it, to blockade it, to delete it and the right to claim for compensation, etc. At the same time, they should fulfill their obligations to provide truthful information and should not abuse these rights. The owner of client list can excise the property right on the list, while the collection, processing and using of customer lists should be subject to certain restrictions. Without permission of the body of information, the client list owner may not transfer the personal information, which can directly identify the specific person, otherwise shall be liable for the damages.