CHINA – SHENZHEN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Yongpan Sheng and Aiyan Ke, Zhong Lun Law Firm
pal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism, and Sports, issued the “Guidelines on Evidence Collec - tion and Review in Cases Linking Administrative Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice for Trade Secret Infringement (for Trial Implementation)”. This docu - ment stipulates evidence standards concerning trade secret ownership, infringing acts, damage determi - nation, criminalisation thresholds, and sentencing considerations. It closely adheres to the statutory elements of criminal trade secret infringement and clarifies the evidence collection and review standards required for administrative agencies to refer suspect - ed criminal cases. The promulgation of this document signifies further refinement in the “linkage between administrative law and criminal law” for trade secrets, thereby strengthening the crackdown on trade secret violations and related crimes. In April 2025, under the command of the Guangdong Provincial Public Securi - ty Department, the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, acting on a corporate complaint, uncovered a case involving the infringement of trade secrets belonging to a well-known technology company. Seven sus - pects were apprehended and criminally detained, with the amount involved exceeding CNY100 million. This case was listed among the top-ten typical cases in the Guangdong Public Security 2025 campaign against intellectual property infringement crimes, demonstrat - ing Shenzhen’s zero tolerance towards trade secret violations. In the administrative arena, the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation has specifically formulated guidelines for administrative enforcement concerning trade secrets and continuously intensified enforcement efforts. In terms of enforcement out - comes, since the commencement of the pilot inno - vation initiative, a cumulative total of 31 trade secret cases have been investigated and addressed, with three cases referred for criminal prosecution, effec - tively safeguarding the rights and interests of inno - vation entities. Regarding enforcement approach, acknowledging the private right nature of trade secrets, enforcement agencies have adjusted their case-handling approaches. To be more specific, while combating trade secret crimes is vital, the impor - tance of preventing trade secret leakage, achieving an equal emphasis on deterrence and prevention, has also been stressed. In terms of service mechanisms,
enforcement agencies also provide companies with “one-stop” trade secret protection services. Lever - aging the “Golden Inner Bay” Foreign-Related Trade Secret Protection Base, they continuously explore foreign-related trade secret protection mechanisms, offering training programmes and salon events, there - by supporting innovation entities as they participate in international competition. Furthermore, proactively providing early warning and protection is one of the key measures introduced by the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau to serve high-quality development. It is reported that the Food, Drug, and Environmental Crime Investigation Division of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau has established an on-site legal edu - cation team, which frequently visits various compa - nies to conduct outreach and education on intellectual property protection, assisting companies in improving their internal self-protection systems. Through initia - tives such as establishing a fast-track mechanism for key enterprises, strengthening preventive education and training, and enhancing pre-case compliance guidance, they systematically elevate security and prevention capabilities. Since the beginning of 2025, they have cumulatively visited and liaised with dozens of key companies. Flexible and pragmatic judicial adjudication rules safeguarding the innovation ecosystem In April 2025, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court issued the “Guidelines on Trade Secret Man - agement and Enforcement for Enterprises”. This document meticulously analyses typical trade secret cases adjudicated by courts nationwide in recent years, outlines common disclosure scenarios across the entire enterprise lifecycle – from R&D and pro - duction to operations – and spans different stages including personnel recruitment, business negotiation, and marketing. It also selects several typical cases to interpret each disclosure scenario. The following section summarises two adjudicative trends based on these typical cases. i) More flexible exam ination and determination standards for trade secrets According to Article 10, paragraph 4 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China, a trade secret refers to technical information, business information, or other commercial information that is
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