1. What are the legal responsibilities for infringement of trade secrets
(1) Civil Liability
Civil liability for infringement of trade secrets is a special application of general civil tort liability.
Legal basis: Article 179 of my country's Civil Code stipulates that six main types of liability can be applied to liability for information infringement:
(1) Elimination of risk: refers to the people's court ordering the defendant to bear the risk of eliminating the impending disclosure, use or expanded disclosure or use of the trade secret.
(2) Return of property: refers to the court ordering the defendant to return tangible items or related rights embodying trade secrets.
(3) Elimination of obstruction: refers to the people's court ordering the defendant to destroy or remove tangible items that infringe on other people's business secrets.
(4) Apologize and eliminate the impact: If the infringement of trade secrets affects the plaintiff The defendant shall bear the responsibility of making an apology and eliminating the impact.
(5) Stop the infringement: This is a major tort liability, which refers to the court’s order that the defendant should stop the infringement of trade secrets.
(6) Damages: This is the main remedy for the plaintiff. If the defendant’s infringement of trade secrets causes damage to the plaintiff, he shall be liable for damages.
3. According to the caseOther ways of assuming liability under the General Principles of Civil Law may also apply in different situations. Such as stopping the infringement, making an apology, eliminating the impact, etc. However, the right holder of infringement and breach of contract can only choose one, and cannot claim both at the same time.
(2) Administrative liability
According to the relevant provisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, In the event of infringement, the victim may proactively request the Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau for investigation and punishment.
1. Stop infringement: For infringement, the supervision and inspection department should order the cessation of the illegal act.
2. Fines: A fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan will be imposed based on the circumstances of infringement of trade secrets.
(3) Criminal liability
The crime of infringement of trade secrets, which refers to the crime of theft , inducement, coercion or other improper means to obtain the trade secrets of the right holder, or illegally disclose, use or allow others to use the trade secrets they possess or obtain, causing heavy losses to the trade secret right holder. The "losses" mentioned here include direct or indirect economic losses.
1. If a natural person commits this crime, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and also or solely to a fine; if particularly serious consequences are caused, he shall be sentenced to three years. The offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than seven years and shall also be fined.
2. If a unit commits this crime, the unit shall be fined, and the persons directly in charge and persons directly responsible shall be held criminally responsible according to the above provisions. .
2. Which behaviors are infringement of trade secrets
(1) Obtain the right holder’s business secrets through theft, bribery, fraud, coercion or other improper means;
(2) Disclose, use or allow others to Using the obligee’s business secrets obtained by means of the preceding paragraph;
(3) Violating the agreement or violating the obligee’s requirements for keeping business secrets, disclosing, using or permitting Others use the trade secrets in their possession.
The third party knew or should have known about the businessIf an employee, former employee or other unit or individual of the secret right holder commits the illegal acts listed in the preceding paragraph and still obtains, discloses, uses or allows others to use the trade secret, it shall be deemed as infringement of the trade secret.
On the premise of establishing a trade secret protection system and meeting the conditions for trade secrets, enterprises have the right to pursue the civil liability of trade secret infringers in accordance with the law. If you believe that your trade secrets have been infringed and caused heavy losses, you can apply to the public security organs and request that the infringer be held criminally responsible. I hope the above content can be helpful to you. If you have other questions, you can click the button below for consultation, or go to the Legal Savior website to consult a professional lawyer.