(Promulgated by Order No. 126 of the State Administration for Market Regulation on February 24, 2026, and effective as of June 1, 2026)

Article 1

These Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “Anti-Unfair Competition Law”) for the purpose of strengthening the protection of trade secrets and maintaining a fair and competitive market order.

Article 2

Business operators shall adhere to the principles of voluntariness, equality, fairness, and good faith when acquiring, disclosing, using, or permitting others to use trade secrets, comply with laws, regulations, rules, and business ethics, and participate fairly in market competition.

For the purposes of these Provisions, “business operators” refer to natural persons, legal persons, and unincorporated organizations engaged in the production, sale, or provision of goods or services (hereinafter, “goods” include services).

Article 3

The State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) shall be responsible for organizing and guiding the administrative protection of trade secrets nationwide.

Market supervision and administration departments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the administrative protection of trade secrets within their respective administrative regions.

Cases involving technical secrets shall generally fall under the jurisdiction of market supervision and administration departments at or above the municipal level with districts. Where necessary for enforcement purposes and with the approval of SAMR, county-level market supervision and administration departments possessing corresponding enforcement capabilities may also exercise jurisdiction over such cases.

Article 4

Market supervision and administration departments shall guide business operators in establishing and improving trade secret protection systems, enhancing awareness and capabilities regarding trade secret protection, and promoting the overall improvement of trade secret protection standards through publicity campaigns, policy interpretation, specialized training, and other means.

Business operators are encouraged to establish and improve trade secret protection management systems and, in light of their industry characteristics, technical requirements, and competitive advantages, actively adopt effective measures to strengthen internal controls and compliance management over confidential elements, and to prevent and stop trade secret infringement. Business operators are also encouraged to innovate methods of trade secret protection and strengthen such protection through certification, evidence preservation, and other means.

Industry associations shall strengthen industry self-discipline and guide and regulate lawful competition by business operators within their respective industries through the formulation of trade secret protection standards, compliance guidelines, and other measures, thereby maintaining market competition order.

Article 5

For the purposes of these Provisions, “trade secrets” refer to technical information, business information, and other commercial information that is unknown to the public, has commercial value, and for which the rights holder has adopted corresponding confidentiality measures.

Information relating to technology, including structures, raw materials, formulas, materials, samples, styles, processes, methods, data, algorithms, computer programs, codes, and similar information, constitutes “technical information” as referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Information relating to business activities, including ideas, management, sales, finance, plans, samples, customer information, data, and similar information, constitutes “business information” as referred to in the first paragraph. Customer information includes customer names, addresses, contact details, transaction habits, intentions, transaction contents, and other related information.

Article 6

For the purposes of these Provisions, “unknown to the public” means that, at the time when the alleged trade secret infringement occurs, the relevant commercial information is not generally known to and readily obtainable by persons within the relevant field.

The following circumstances shall be deemed situations in which the relevant commercial information is known to the public:

1. The information constitutes common knowledge or industry practice within the relevant field;

2. The information only involves simple combinations of product dimensions, structures, materials, components, or similar contents that can be directly obtained by persons in the relevant field through      observation of products available on the market;

3. The information has been publicly disclosed in publications or other media;

4. The information has been made public through open conferences, exhibitions, or similar means;

5. The information can be obtained by persons in the relevant field through other public channels.

Where new information is formed through the compilation, improvement, or processing of commercial information already known to the public, and such new information satisfies the requirements set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall be deemed “unknown to the public.”

Article 7

For the purposes of these Provisions, “having commercial value” means that the commercial information possesses actual or potential value and is capable of bringing commercial benefits or competitive advantages to the rights holder, including increased assets, increased revenue or profits, growth in user numbers, reduced costs and expenses, shortened research and development time, increased business opportunities, enhanced business reputation, or improved product goodwill.

Interim achievements generated during production and business operations, as well as unsuccessful experimental data, technical solutions, and similar information, shall be deemed to have commercial value if they satisfy the requirements set forth in the preceding paragraph.

Article 8

For the purposes of these Provisions, “rights holder” refers to the owner of a trade secret and any licensee or authorized user who has been licensed or authorized by the trade secret owner.

Article 9

For the purposes of these Provisions, “adopting corresponding confidentiality measures” means that the rights holder has taken reasonable confidentiality measures appropriate to the nature of the trade secret, its carrier, the commercial value of the trade secret, and other relevant factors in order to prevent disclosure of the trade secret.

The following circumstances shall constitute corresponding confidentiality measures adopted by a rights holder:

1. Entering into confidentiality agreements or stipulating confidentiality obligations in contracts;

2. Imposing confidentiality requirements on employees,former employees, suppliers, customers, visitors, and other persons capable of accessing or obtaining trade secrets through rules and regulations, training, written notices, or other means;

3. Prohibiting or restricting access to confidential production and business premises such as factories, workshops,laboratories, and offices, or managing such premises separately;

4. Adopting technical confidentiality measures such as hierarchical access controls, data desensitization, and operation log retention in scenarios involving remote work or cross-border collaboration;

5. Managing trade secrets and their carriers separately through marking, classification, segregation, encryption, sealing, or restricting the scope of persons who may access or obtain them;

6. Restricting or prohibiting the use, access, storage, copying, or similar activities relating to computer equipment, network equipment, storage devices, and other facilities capable of accessing or obtaining trade secrets;

7. Requiring departing employees to register, return,erase, or destroy trade secrets and their carriers obtained during employment and continue to fulfill confidentiality obligations;

8. Other reasonable confidentiality measures.

Article 10

Business operators shall not obtain a rights holder's trade secrets through theft, bribery, fraud, coercion, electronic intrusion, or other improper means.

The following circumstances constitute “improper means” as referred to in these Provisions:

1. Accessing, possessing, or copying without authorization or beyond the scope of authorization any documents, goods,materials, raw materials, or other carriers under the rights holder's control that contain trade secrets or from which trade secrets may be derived;

2. Bribing, coercing, or deceiving employees, former employees, or other entities or individuals of the rights holder through the provision of money, other property interests, personal threats, or similar means to obtain trade secrets;

3. Entering without authorization or beyond the scope of authorization into the rights holder's digital office systems, servers, email accounts, cloud storage systems, application accounts, or similar systems, or obtaining trade secrets through malicious programs, vulnerability exploitation, or other technical means;

4. Downloading or transferring trade secrets without authorization, beyond the scope of authorization, or after expiration of authorization to email accounts, cloud storage spaces, or electronic devices not controlled by the rights holder;

5. Other improper means of obtaining the rights holder's trade secrets.

Article 11

Business operators shall not disclose, use, or permit others to use a rights holder’s trade secrets that have been obtained by improper means.

For the purposes of these Provisions, “disclosure” means divulging a trade secret to a third party other than the rights holder, or making the trade secret public such that it becomes generally known to or readily accessible by the relevant public.

For the purposes of these Provisions, “use” means directly using a trade secret, using a trade secret after modifying or improving it, or adjusting or improving relevant production and business activities based on the trade secret.

Article 12

Business operators shall not disclose, use, or permit others to use trade secrets in their possession in violation of confidentiality obligations or the rights holder’s requirements for maintaining the confidentiality of trade secrets.

Confidentiality obligations or the rights holder’s requirements for maintaining trade secret confidentiality generally include the following circumstances:

1. An obligation to maintain confidentiality of trade secrets as stipulated in employment contracts, confidentiality agreements, sales contracts, or other contracts;

2. In the absence of a contractual provision, an obligation to maintain confidentiality of trade secrets arising under the principle of good faith based on the nature and purpose of the contract,      trade customs, business ethics, or similar considerations;

3. Circumstances where the rights holder has imposed confidentiality requirements on relevant persons having knowledge of the      trade secret, including but not limited to persons who obtained knowledge of the trade secret through contractual relationships or through participation in research and development, production, testing, certification, or similar activities;

4. In the absence of a contractual provision, circumstances where the rights holder has clearly imposed confidentiality requirements on employees, former employees, business partners, or other relevant persons through internal rules, regulations, or reasonable confidentiality measures;

5. Other circumstances in which a confidentiality obligation exists or the rights holder has imposed requirements regarding the protection of trade secrets.

Article 13

Business operators shall not instigate, induce, or assist others to violate confidentiality obligations or the rights holder’s requirements for maintaining trade secret confidentiality for the purpose of obtaining, disclosing, using, or permitting others to use the rights holder’s trade secrets.

The following circumstances constitute acts of instigating, inducing, or assisting others to infringe trade secrets:

1. Encouraging, directing, or inciting others, expressly or implicitly, to infringe trade secrets;

2. Inducing others, expressly or implicitly, to infringe trade secrets through material rewards, promises of positions, or other tangible or intangible incentives;

3. Providing funds, technology, equipment, or other facilitating conditions to a person while knowing or having reason to know that such person is infringing trade secrets;

4. Other acts of instigating, inducing, or assisting others in infringing trade secrets.

Article 14

Where a natural person, legal person, or unincorporated organization other than a business operator commits any of the unlawful acts specified in Articles 10 through 13 of these Provisions, such conduct shall be deemed an infringement of trade secrets.

Where a third party, knowing or having reason to know that an employee, former employee, business partner, or any other entity or individual of a trade secret rights holder has committed any of the unlawful acts specified in Articles 10 through 13 of these Provisions, nevertheless obtains, discloses, uses, or permits others to use the trade secret, such conduct shall be deemed an infringement of trade secrets.

In determining whether a third party knew or should have known, comprehensive consideration shall be given to factors such as the degree of confidentiality of the commercial information, the reasonableness of the means and channels through which it was obtained, the transaction price, the relationship between the third party and the trade secret rights holder, industry practices, and other relevant circumstances.

Article 15

The following acts generally do not constitute infringement of trade secrets:

1. Independent discovery or independent research and development;

2. Obtaining relevant technical information concerning a product through disassembly, surveying and mapping, analysis, or similar means applied to a product obtained through lawful public channels;

3. A former employee of a trade secret rights holder carrying out work by using general knowledge, skills, industry experience accumulated during employment, or industry information obtainable through      public channels;

4. Disclosure of trade secrets to state authorities, statutory bodies exercising administrative functions, or their personnel in accordance with law for purposes such as exposing illegal or criminal conduct, safeguarding national security, or protecting the public interest;

5. Other acts that do not constitute infringement of trade secrets.

Article 16

All organizations and individuals are encouraged, supported, and protected in carrying out public supervision over acts infringing trade secrets.

Market supervision and administration departments shall keep confidential the information of whistleblowers and organizations or individuals assisting in the investigation and handling of trade secret infringement cases.

Article 17

Where a rights holder believes that its trade secrets have been infringed, it may file a complaint with a market supervision and administration department.

When filing a complaint, the rights holder shall provide preliminary evidence demonstrating that its commercial information constitutes a trade secret, together with specific leads indicating suspected infringement of the trade secret, and shall be responsible for the authenticity of the complaint. Where necessary for its work, the market supervision and administration department may require the complainant to supplement the complaint materials.

No organization or individual may fabricate facts concerning trade secret infringement in order to falsely accuse another person or engage in extortion, nor may any person abuse the right to file complaints in a manner that disrupts market competition order or market supervision and administration order.

Article 18

The preliminary evidence demonstrating that a rights holder’s commercial information constitutes a trade secret generally includes the following:

1. The process and timing of the creation of the commercial information;

2. Evidence showing that the commercial information is not known to the public or does not fall within any of the circumstances listed in paragraph 2 of Article 6 of these Provisions;

3. The commercial value of the commercial information;

4. The confidentiality measures adopted by the rights holder with respect to the commercial information;

5. Other evidence capable of proving that the rights holder’s commercial information constitutes a trade secret.

The following circumstances may generally serve as specific leads indicating suspected infringement of trade secrets:

1. Evidence showing that the person suspected of infringing the trade secret (hereinafter referred to as the “suspected infringer”) had access to or an opportunity to obtain the trade secret;

2. Evidence showing that the confidentiality measures protecting the trade secret were compromised by the suspected infringer through improper means;

3. Evidence showing that the trade secret has actually been obtained by the suspected infringer;

4. Evidence showing that the trade secret has been disclosed or used by the suspected infringer, or that there is a risk of such disclosure or use;

5. Other evidence indicating that the trade secret has been infringed by the suspected infringer.

Article 19

Upon receiving a complaint or lead, a market supervision and administration department shall conduct verification in accordance with law and determine whether to initiate a formal investigation.

A case shall be docketed where, upon verification, all of the following conditions are met:

1. There is preliminary evidence proving the existence of trade secret infringement and the conduct is subject to administrative penalties according to law;

2. The case falls within the jurisdiction of the department;

3. The statutory limitation period for imposing administrative penalties has not expired.

Article 20

A suspected infringer, interested party, and any other relevant organization or individual shall truthfully provide relevant materials or information to the market supervision and administration department.

Where evidence proves that the information used by a suspected infringer is substantially identical to the trade secret claimed by the rights holder, and the suspected infringer had the conditions to obtain the trade secret, the market supervision and administration department may determine that the suspected infringer has committed trade secret infringement, unless evidence proves that the information used by the suspected infringer was lawfully obtained or lawfully used.

Article 21

Market supervision and administration departments and their personnel shall, in accordance with law, bear obligations of confidentiality with respect to any trade secrets learned during the course of investigations, and shall not unlawfully disclose, use, or permit others to use the rights holder’s trade secrets.

Where a market supervision and administration department discloses an administrative penalty decision in accordance with law, it shall not disclose any content involving trade secrets.

Article 22

Rights holders and suspected infringers may entrust legally qualified appraisal institutions to conduct appraisals on specialized matters such as whether the rights holder’s information is known to the public or whether the information used by the suspected infringer is substantially identical to the rights holder’s information. They may also engage persons with specialized knowledge to issue professional opinions on such matters and submit the appraisal conclusions or professional opinions to the market supervision and administration department.

Article 23

In investigating suspected trade secret infringement, a market supervision and administration department may adopt the following measures:

1. Entering the business premises where the suspected trade secret infringement has occurred to conduct inspections;

2. Questioning the suspected infringer under investigation, interested parties, and other relevant entities or individuals, and requiring them to explain relevant circumstances or provide other materials relating to the conduct under investigation;

3. Examining and copying agreements, account books,vouchers, documents, records, business correspondence, and other materials related to the suspected trade secret infringement;

4. Seizing or detaining property related to the suspected trade secret infringement;

5. Investigating the bank accounts of business operators suspected of trade secret infringement.

Where any of the measures specified in the preceding paragraph are adopted, a written report shall first be submitted to, and approval obtained from, the principal person in charge of the market supervision and administration department. Where the measures specified in Items (4) and (5) of the preceding paragraph are adopted, a written report shall first be submitted to, and approval obtained from, the principal person in charge of a market supervision and administration department at or above the municipal level with districts.

Market supervision and administration departments and their personnel shall, when conducting investigations or requesting assistance in investigations in accordance with law, avoid or minimize any impact on the normal production and business operations of business operators.

Article 24

Any person who infringes trade secrets in violation of these Provisions shall be ordered by a market supervision and administration department at or above the county level, pursuant to Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, to cease the unlawful conduct, have any illegal gains confiscated, and be fined not less than RMB 100,000 but not more than RMB 1,000,000. Where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1,000,000 but not more than RMB 5,000,000 shall be imposed.

Article 25

Where an order is issued pursuant to Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law requiring cessation of unlawful conduct, the duration of such order shall generally continue until the relevant commercial information no longer constitutes a trade secret.

An order requiring cessation of unlawful conduct generally includes the following measures:

1. Ordering the infringer to cease using the rights holder’s trade secrets, unless otherwise agreed by the rights holder;

2. Ordering the infringer to return the trade secret carriers to the rights holder or destroy them;

3. Ordering the infringer to destroy infringing products or intermediate products containing trade secrets, unless the rights holder agrees to other methods of disposition such as acquisition or sale;

4. Ordering the infringer to remove and eliminate any trade secrets of the rights holder obtained by the infringer;

5. Other measures requiring cessation of acts infringing the rights holder’s trade secrets.

Article 26

The following circumstances shall constitute “serious circumstances” as referred to in Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law:

1. Causing relatively substantial direct losses to the rights holder;

2. Causing significant adverse impacts on the rights holder’s production or business operations;

3. Harming national interests or the public interest;

4. Committing another act of trade secret infringement within two years after having been subjected to administrative penalties for trade secret infringement;

5. Other circumstances of a serious nature.

Article 27

Where a violation of these Provisions is suspected of constituting a criminal offense, the matter shall be transferred to the judicial authorities in accordance with law for the pursuit of criminal liability.

Article 28

Where the commercial information referred to in these Provisions constitutes a state secret, it shall be protected in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets.

Article 29

Where trade secret infringement is committed outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, disrupts domestic market competition order, and harms the lawful rights and interests of business operators within China, such conduct shall be dealt with in accordance with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and other relevant laws.

Article 30

Where laws or administrative regulations provide that other departments shall supervise and inspect acts of trade secret infringement, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 31

These Provisions shall come into force on June 1, 2026.

Simultaneously upon the implementation of these Provisions, the Several Provisions on Prohibiting Infringement of Trade Secrets, promulgated by Order No. 41 of the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce on November 23, 1995, shall be repealed.