After grasping the key information of the company, employees start from scratch and set up the same type of company to become competitors of the "old club". The salesperson jumped ship, resulting in the leakage of the company's trade secrets...... How to define the relationship between reasonable talent flow and employee infringement of trade secrets, and can a non-compete clause be used to effectively protect an enterprise's trade secrets?
On April 25, 2024, on the occasion of "World Intellectual Property Day" and "May Day", the Xicheng Court held a press briefing on "Typical Cases of Infringement of Trade Secrets by Employees Involved in 'Job Hopping'", by clarifying the legal issues related to labor disputes and trade secret infringement disputes, releasing typical cases and putting forward judges' suggestions, aiming to clear obstacles for enterprises to protect trade secrets in accordance with the law, and also to convey the temperature of Western law to protect workers' free choice of employment.
According to Wang Yuantian, a member of the party group and vice president of the Xicheng Court, since 2019, the Xicheng Court has merged the intellectual property court and the labor dispute court into one, established a distinctive professional courtroom, tried a number of cases involving non-compete restrictions and trade secret infringement disputes, and contributed judicial wisdom and strength in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of both employers and employees in accordance with the law and maintaining a fair market competition order. Wang Yuantian said that there is both a connection and a difference between a labor dispute arising from an employee's violation of a non-compete agreement and an unfair competition dispute arising from an employee's infringement of trade secrets, and that enterprises are also confused when choosing the corresponding way to protect their rights, so it is necessary to clarify it by combing through relevant typical cases.
Focusing on the infringement of trade secrets by job-hopping employees, Dong Linming, vice president of the Fourth Civil Division (Intellectual Property Division) of Xicheng Court, released four typical cases, in which the case of "copying the contract and signing the contract before and after is not a coincidence" clarified that the court should follow the determination rule of "constituting a trade secret + possibility of contact + substantial sameness - legal source" when determining whether the job-changing employee infringes trade secrets. The case "Impersonation, Violation of Good Faith is Not Advisable" clarifies that in a case of infringement of trade secrets by "impersonating" the original employer after an employee changes jobs, the counterparty to the contract is completely misidentified, and this business behavior that violates the principle of good faith should be regulated. The case "the sea 'picks the needle', and the industry norms do not allow it" clarifies the determination of "improper means of acquisition", and the industry norms in specific fields can be referred to and applied. The case "general protection, the company's rights protection is at risk" suggests that if there is only a non-compete agreement, the enterprise should also stipulate in detail the scope of protection of trade secrets and take appropriate protective measures to protect them.
Subsequently, Judge Liu Yijun put forward the judge's suggestions on how to protect trade secrets for enterprises and employees. Remind the majority of enterprise operators to improve the trade secret protection system in accordance with the law, set the level of trade secrets, clearly stipulate the scope and authority of employees at different levels and in different positions to access the corresponding level of trade secrets, and attach confidentiality marks to the enterprise's secret-related carriers; It attaches great importance to the protection of trade secrets in foreign business dealings, and shall file and conduct internal review in advance for confidential information that employees may be involved in external exchanges, and remind employees to avoid leaking enterprise trade secrets, and if it is necessary to provide confidential documents and materials to third parties, the confidential information should be declassified to prevent the leakage of enterprise trade secrets to the greatest extent。 Employees are reminded that they should comply with statutory and contractual confidentiality obligations both during employment, resignation, and after resignation.
Shu Maolin, head of the news team of the Xicheng Court, said that he hoped that the reported cases would inspire all parties, and with the joint efforts of all sectors of society, help enterprises protect trade secrets in accordance with the law, and workers can freely choose jobs and start businesses, so as to jointly create a good business environment based on the rule of law.
Scan the QR code to view the typical cases of the briefing
Meng Lingyue, a representative of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, Wang Geng, Liu Shengyao, Xu Gencai, Zhang Yongfeng, and Nan Yun, representatives of the Xicheng District People's Congress, came to the scene to participate in the activities, and Zhang Huiping, chief of the Party and Mass Office of the Desheng Street Office, participated in the activities on behalf of the "Pioneer Peer" project docking street.
Reporters from the Rule of Law Daily, People's Rule of Law Magazine, Beijing Daily, Beijing TV, Beijing Youth Daily and other media came to the scene to participate in the briefing.
Before the press conference, the deputies of the National People's Congress visited the intensive management center of trial auxiliary affairs of Xicheng Court, the case filing and mediation work area, the litigation service hall and the litigation source management through train workstation, and listened to the explanation and introduction of the staff. During the visit, the deputies of the National People's Congress fully exchanged views on the comprehensive governance of the grassroots level, the diversification of the judicial needs of the masses, the "full-cycle" litigation source management work method, and the "pioneer peer" project.
Testimonials
Meng Lingyue, deputy to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress:
The significance of trade secret protection is to maintain fair competition, protect the rights and interests of enterprises, promote technological innovation and economic development, and regulate market behavior. The press briefing of the Xicheng Court took the protection of trade secrets caused by the resignation of employees as the starting point, and provided exemplary guidance for regulating the market behavior of enterprises and employees. In the face of the increasing number of trade secret infringements, on the one hand, enterprises need to take the initiative to strengthen their awareness of rights protection. On the other hand, workers themselves need to regulate their own behavior to prevent the leakage of trade secrets. Participating in this press briefing, I have gained a deeper understanding of trade secret protection, and I hope that all sectors of society can strengthen cooperation and jointly create a good environment for respecting and protecting intellectual property rights.
Zhang Yongfeng, deputy to the Xicheng District People's Congress:
At the same time, it also used cases to explain the law, deeply analyze the legal consequences of infringement, leakage and improper use of trade secrets, guide workers to standardize the performance of confidentiality obligations, and call on enterprises to strengthen the protection of trade secrets. Through this press briefing, I felt the attention of the Xicheng Court to the judicial protection of intellectual property rights, and this press conference focused on the difficulties in the protection of trade secrets through case guidelines, judges' suggestions, etc., which can help enterprises solve the worries of innovation, alleviate the dangers of development, help stimulate innovation vitality, promote scientific and technological progress and industrial innovation, and serve to ensure high-quality social and economic development.
Contributed by: Xicheng Court
Photo: Yana Wang
Editor: Duan Qingxin Guo Jin
Review: Wang Fang