[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, if a trade secret is leaked, the first step is to secure evidence and then pursue legal protection through civil, administrative, and criminal channels. According to Article 10 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on June 27, 2025 and implemented on October 15, 2025), a trade secret refers to technical information, business information, and other commercial information that is not known to the public, has commercial value, and is subject to appropriate confidentiality measures taken by the rights holder. The article also lists infringement types such as theft, inducement, and breach of contract disclosure. In civil cases, victims can sue to demand cessation of infringement and compensation for losses. In administrative cases, victims can file complaints with the market supervision department. According to Article 26 of the same law, infringers will be ordered to cease illegal activities, have their illegal gains confiscated, and be fined. If the circumstances are serious and suspected of infringing trade secrets, a report can be made to the People's Republic of China Criminal Law (Article 219) for legal accountability. If the situation is urgent and failure to immediately stop the infringement will lead to expanded damages, victims can apply for injunctive relief in accordance with Articles 103 and 104 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on September 1, 2023 and implemented on January 1, 2024). For more details, please refer to the following link:Legal services for corporate commercial and contract disputes.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

The core formulas, process parameters, and source codes were taken away by former employees. The client lists and pricing systems appeared in the quotations of competitors. Collaborators used technical documents beyond the agreed scope, and data leaked after the server was hacked—the forms of trade secret leakage are becoming increasingly covert, and electronic leaks are particularly difficult to detect. A common misunderstanding among enterprises is that they don't have hierarchical authorization and access logs in peacetime, so they can't prove who accessed the information after an incident occurs. When they detect abnormalities, they directly confront the suspects, which may lead to evidence being deleted. They mistakenly believe that the only solution is to report the case to the police, missing the window for preserving evidence and filing administrative complaints. The rules for preventing leaks in advance and collecting evidence afterwards can be referred to for reference.Intellectual property protection and long-term legal services for enterprises.

II. Key points of dispute

The disputes in such cases focus on four points. Firstly, whether a trade secret exists: the three essential elements of secrecy (not known to the public), commercial value, and confidentiality measures must all be present. If it is merely an internal slogan or does not involve substantive management measures, it may not be recognized as a trade secret. Secondly, the path of infringement determination: judicial practice typically follows the approach of "contact plus similarity minus legal source", that is, the right holder proves that the infringer has channels or opportunities to access the trade secret, and the information used by the infringer is substantially identical or similar to the trade secret involved. Then, the infringer must prove that the information source is legal. Thirdly, the intersection of criminal and civil procedures: the evidentiary threshold and criminalization standards in criminal prosecution are higher, while civil infringement determination is relatively flexible. The two paths can run in parallel or be connected, but the evidentiary standards in criminal proceedings are stricter. Fourthly, emergency measures: provisional measures require proof of an urgent situation, that if not immediately stopped, it will cause irreparable damage, and a guarantee must be provided.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

During the handling of corporate commercial dispute cases, Henglue Lawyers have formed three practical observations on trade secret leakage cases. Firstly, the forms of leakage are highly concentrated: departing employees download large amounts of data during their employment and send them via personal email or online storage; partners continue to use shared technical and quotation documents after the termination of cooperation; executives transfer customer resources to their affiliated enterprises; and external personnel use technical means to invade and steal data. Secondly, the judicial adjudication points are as follows: confidentiality measures are crucial. The court will review whether the enterprise has signed a confidentiality agreement, classified and authorized information, and set access permissions and operation logs. Simply locking files in public folders is usually not recognized. When the loss is difficult to calculate precisely, the court may determine the compensation amount based on factors such as the infringer's profits and the multiple of the license fee. Thirdly, the most common pitfalls include: questioning suspects first after discovering abnormalities, leading to evidence being deleted; failing to preserve server logs and email records, making it impossible to restore data after overwriting; not knowing that behavioral preservation can be applied, allowing the scope of leakage to expand; and using hacking methods to collect evidence, which may constitute illegal activities. Henglue Lawyers advise: The golden preservation period for electronic evidence is usually measured in hours. Upon discovering abnormalities, it is necessary to immediately seek legal guidance for evidence collection.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

The legal basis includes Article 10 (Acts of infringing trade secrets and the definition of trade secrets) and Article 26 (Ordering the cessation of illegal acts, confiscating illegal income and imposing fines) of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on June 27, 2025 and implemented on October 15, 2025); the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Cases Involving Infringement of Trade Secrets (Legal Interpretation [2020] No. 17, implemented on January 1, 2021) regarding the constituting elements of trade secrets, rules of evidence and liability for compensation; Article 219 (Crime of infringing trade secrets) of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (amended by the Eleventh Amendment to the Criminal Law and implemented on March 1, 2021); and Articles 103 and 104 (Provisional Measures for Preservation of Evidence) of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on September 1, 2023 and implemented on January 1, 2024). Action list: 1. Immediately fix evidence by notarizing or timestamping server logs, emails, instant messaging records, and file operation records, and sealing relevant equipment and account permissions; 2. Review confidentiality systems, confidentiality agreements, and access permission records to prove that confidentiality measures have been taken; 3. Compile a list of confidential information and evaluate its confidentiality, value, and confidentiality measures item by item; 4. Entrust a lawyer to send cease-and-desist letters and simultaneously prepare for civil litigation, administrative complaints, or criminal reporting; 5. In urgent situations, apply for provisional measures for preservation of evidence before or during litigation. For more details, please refer to the following link: [Link].Legal services for corporate commercial and contract disputes.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

The protection of trade secrets lies in daily preparation: information classification, access management, agreement coverage, and log traceability. Only by doing these four things well can we effectively track down leaks after they occur. When seeking legal protection after the fact, the two most worrying issues are evidence loss and tipping off the culprit. Electronic logs, cloud storage records, and email exchanges all have coverage or cleanup cycles. If any abnormalities are detected, it is necessary to preserve the evidence under the guidance of a lawyer as soon as possible, and then decide the order of sending letters, filing complaints, or reporting cases. The three paths of seeking legal protection are not conflicting. Civil claims, administrative investigations, and criminal prosecutions can form a combined strategy, but the evidentiary standards for each are different, so it is necessary to make overall arrangements. When handling similar cases in the Beijing area, it is recommended that enterprises contact legal professionals as soon as possible.Beijing Henglue Law FirmProfessional lawyers should simultaneously promote the implementation of stop-loss measures and the pursuit of accountability.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: If a trade secret is leaked, can we win the lawsuit?

It depends on two levels of proof: first, whether the information involved constitutes a trade secret, that is, whether it is not known to the public, has commercial value, and has taken confidentiality measures; second, whether the evidence of infringement is established. Usually, it is necessary to prove that the other party had the opportunity to access the information, that the information is substantially the same or similar to the trade secret involved, and that the other party cannot prove its legitimate source. If any of the requirements is not met, the claim may be rejected. The conclusions of individual cases are based on the evidence and the court's determination, and no lawyer can unilaterally guarantee victory or defeat.

Q2: What evidence do I need to prepare for protecting my rights?

Key materials are divided into four categories: First, evidence of rights, including technical documents, customer lists, pricing systems, and other carriers, as well as the process of their formation, to prove that the information belongs to the enterprise; Second, evidence of confidentiality measures, including confidentiality agreements, hierarchical authorization systems, access rights records, operation logs, and confidentiality labels; Third, evidence of access, including download and external transmission records of departing employees, shared file records of cooperation partners, and abnormal login logs; Fourth, evidence of identity and loss, including comparison materials of leaked content with confidential points, customer loss and order differences, and descriptions of similarities between the other party's products and the enterprise's own technologies. For electronic evidence, it is recommended to obtain notarization or fix it with a timestamp.

Q3: How much does it cost to protect trade secrets?

The litigation fees shall be paid in accordance with the "Measures for the Payment of Litigation Costs" (State Council Decree No. 481, implemented on April 1, 2007), which stipulates that the fees shall be paid in stages based on the amount of the claim. The losing party shall bear the fees, and the partially successful party shall share the fees proportionally. If the applicant requests preservation of evidence, a guarantee shall be provided, and the amount of the guarantee shall be determined by the court based on the potential losses caused by the preservation. The fees for notarization of electronic data, secret point appraisal, and non-public appraisal vary depending on the complexity of the case, ranging from thousands of yuan to tens of thousands of yuan, with no unified government pricing. The attorney's fees shall be determined through consultation between the parties. It is recommended to first conduct an evaluation of the evidence and the chances of winning the case, and then decide on the scale of investment.

Q4: How long does it usually take to protect one's rights?

The review of behavioral preservation is relatively quick. The court generally makes a ruling within 48 hours, and the time limit can be extended for complex cases; the investigation period of administrative complaints usually lasts several months; civil litigation is concluded within six months in the ordinary procedure and three months in the summary procedure. For cases involving technical comparison, audit, or evaluation, the corresponding periods are not included in the time limit for trial; the criminal procedure takes a longer period from filing to sentencing. In practice, most civil infringement cases yield results within half a year to one and a half years, and cases involving multiple parallel proceedings require coordinated timing. The earlier the leak is detected, the more complete the evidence will be fixed, and the more controllable the time period will be.

Q5: If you discover that a trade secret has been leaked, what should you do first?

Four steps to proceed: First, immediately preserve electronic evidence, export and notarize server logs, emails, instant messages, and file operation records, and seal relevant equipment and suspend the suspect's account permissions; Second, sort out the confidentiality system and access permission lists, confirm who can access and when to access; Third, organize a list of confidential points and evaluate confidentiality, value, and confidentiality measures item by item; Fourth, entrust lawyers to develop a combination plan - send a letter to stop the infringement, apply for behavioral preservation, file an administrative complaint, initiate a civil lawsuit, or report a criminal case, and apply for property preservation as needed. It is important not to question first and then collect evidence, as this will give the other party the initiative in collecting evidence.

The above Q&A is mainly based on the judicial practice in the Beijing area. There may be differences in the adjudication opinions in different regions. It is recommended to consult a professional lawyer based on the specific circumstances of the case.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the relevant evidence materials, so as to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Business and commercial legal services·Attorney Xiong Binrong·Beijing Henglu Law Firm

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on the current effective laws and regulations and open adjudication rules, and is for general reference only. It does not constitute a formal legal opinion on specific cases. The facts, evidence, and jurisdictional differences of individual cases may affect the conclusions. In case of disputes, please consult a practicing lawyer in time.