Case Focus
- Apple filed a lawsuit with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that OpenAI misappropriated trade secrets.
- Technical secrets were internally stolen to “set up a rival operation”; Heze-listed company Saito Bio claims RMB 320 million in damages.
- An employee unlawfully released footage of a game not yet launched, infringing the employer’s trade secrets and was ordered to pay RMB 18,000 in damages.
Industry Developments
- Wuhan City, Hubei Province held a press conference on innovation in trade secret protection; data released at the conference show that more than 4,000 enterprises in Wuhan are now linked to the city’s trade secret protection system.
- Taiyuan City issued guidelines for trade secret protection work.
Typical Cases
- The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court and two other entities jointly released eight typical cases on trade secret protection.
- The Sichuan Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, together with the Sichuan High People’s Court, released six typical cases on trade secret protection.
Case Focus
Apple filed a lawsuit with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that OpenAI misappropriated trade secrets
On July 10 local time, Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that artificial intelligence company OpenAI misappropriated Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information. In its complaint, Apple stated that OpenAI obtained Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information “at all levels,” involving technical personnel, corporate executives, and business partners.
This lawsuit indicates that the cooperative relationship between the two companies, which began in 2024, has suffered a serious rift. In 2024, Apple and OpenAI reached a cooperation agreement to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone operating system. However, as OpenAI last year acquired IO Products, a hardware startup founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, for approximately USD 6.5 billion, relations between the two parties gradually cooled.
Apple alleges that multiple former employees were involved with Apple’s confidential information during interviews with or upon joining OpenAI, and claims that OpenAI had instructed employees to circumvent offboarding security procedures. Apple requests that the court order OpenAI to cease using the relevant trade secrets and seeks monetary damages.
Source: China Daily
Technical secrets internally stolen to “set up a rival operation”; Heze-listed company Saito Bio claims RMB 320 million in damages
On the evening of June 30, Heze-listed company Saito Bio announced that, in relation to the infringement of its technical secrets, it had filed a lawsuit with the Shandong High People’s Court against Shenyang Botai Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Chang Zunxue, Liu Yao, Liu Liang, and Liu Yanling, five defendants in total, claiming damages of RMB 320 million. The case has recently been formally docketed.
According to the announcement, the infringing acts were carried out through collusion among multiple persons. Among them, former manager of the Technical Department, Liu Yanling, unlawfully sent the technical secrets to Liu Liang via email. Both have already been criminally convicted of the crime of infringing trade secrets.
Saito Bio requests that the court order all defendants to cease the infringement, and demands that Shenyang Botai, Chang Zunxue, Liu Yao, and Liu Liang be held jointly and severally liable for RMB 310 million in damages, with Liu Yanling bearing joint and several liability for RMB 10 million thereof.
Source: Economic Herald
Employee unlawfully released footage of a game not yet launched, infringing the employer’s trade secrets and was ordered to pay RMB 18,000 in damages
Zhang joined a certain internet company, and the parties signed a confidentiality agreement stipulating that any disclosure of trade secrets would require payment of liquidated damages of RMB 500,000. Only half a month after joining, Zhang recorded the screen during a work meeting without authorization and posted footage of a game that had not yet been launched on his personal Xiaohongshu account, garnering more than 300 views. Upon discovery, the company immediately demanded deletion, and the parties terminated their employment relationship the following day.
To manage public opinion, the company incurred monitoring fees and liquidated damages totaling RMB 290,000, and subsequently sought compensation from Zhang. The Minhang District People’s Court held that Zhang clearly knew the content fell within the scope of confidentiality and that his conduct constituted a disclosure of secrets. Taking into account the company’s actual losses, Zhang’s degree of fault, and his salary level, the court ordered Zhang to pay RMB 18,000 in compensation. After the judgment, the company appealed, but the court of second instance dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment. The judgment has now taken legal effect.
Source: Shanghai Minhang Court
Industry Developments
Wuhan City, Hubei Province held a press conference on innovation in trade secret protection; data released at the conference show that more than 4,000 enterprises in Wuhan are now linked to the city’s trade secret protection system
On June 26, Wuhan City, Hubei Province held a press conference on innovation in trade secret protection. Data released at the conference show that since Wuhan was selected in July 2022 as part of the first batch of national pilot cities, the number of enterprises linked to the city’s trade secret protection system has exceeded 4,000, and 452 municipal-level model enterprises and 106 model service stations have been established.
A series of institutional and service innovation measures were released collectively at the press conference. Wuhan has established a trade secret “health check” mechanism that is demand-oriented for enterprises, commissioned by market regulation authorities, and delivered on-site by professional institutions. It has selected more than 100 think tank experts and 22 professional institutions to form a trade secret protection think tank and has built a refined “one enterprise, one policy” service system. The market regulation authorities, public security organs, procuratorates, and courts have jointly established a pre-processing center for trade secret infringement, promoting seamless integration of administrative guidance with criminal investigation, prosecutorial supervision, and technical support, thereby creating a full-chain, closed-loop service.
To address financing difficulties, Wuhan has established a municipal trade secret financial services alliance and opened a green channel for financing. At present, multiple enterprises have obtained financing loans totaling more than RMB 31 million by pledging trade secrets. The Municipal Administration for Market Regulation and the Municipal Financial Work Office have jointly built a docking platform and organized more than 20 leading venture capital institutions to carry out equity financing for a certain “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” small and medium-sized enterprise by contributing its core trade secret technology as capital; an intended financing amount of more than RMB 50 million has been reached.
To safeguard enterprises in “going global,” Wuhan has issued the “Guide to National (Regional) Laws on Trade Secret Protection,” covering seven international conventions and 45 countries and regions; the construction of the Municipal Center for Foreign-related Trade Secret Protection is being actively advanced. In terms of law enforcement, the city has established a talent pool for trade secret protection within the market regulation system, with 39 key enforcement personnel included. In addition, the city has cumulatively carried out 35 training sessions for enterprises, with participation by more than 3,000 enterprises, conducted more than 800 on-site compliance guidance visits, and distributed more than 30,000 guidance manuals.
Source: China Market Regulation News
Taiyuan City issued guidelines for trade secret protection work
To effectively resolve operational pain points such as the absence of standardized management of trade secrets, lack of avenues for rights protection in the event of leaks, and the absence of risk prevention and control systems, and to accurately empower all types of business entities in the city to enhance their capacity to protect core information, the Taiyuan Municipal Administration for Market Regulation recently officially issued the “Guidelines for Trade Secret Protection Work in Taiyuan City.”
First, benchmarking new laws and regulations to clarify conceptual definitions. The compilation of the “Guidelines” strictly benchmarks the newly revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China and is aligned with Order No. 126 of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the “Provisions on Trade Secret Protection,” which will formally come into force on June 1, 2026. It closely follows the practical needs of the entire business process of enterprises and comprehensively covers core content such as the delineation of the boundaries of trade secrets, the establishment of internal confidentiality management systems within enterprises, full-cycle risk prevention and control, practical evidence collection in leakage incidents, and diversified channels for rights protection, thereby providing a practical manual that is implementable, standardized, and institutionalized for enterprises, industrial parks, industry associations, and confidentiality service institutions throughout the city.
Second, covering the entire business cycle to build a diversified protection system. The “Guidelines” clarify that trade secret protection in the city follows the working principles of enterprise-led self-protection, establishment of protection systems, targeted government guidance, and industry-based coordinated self-discipline. Operators are encouraged to implement full-cycle risk prevention and control based on their respective industry characteristics, technical requirements, and competitive advantages, and to build a three-dimensional trade secret protection system featuring multi-party linkage among administrative authorities, the judiciary, industry, and enterprises.
Third, clarifying responses to infringement to safeguard lawful rights and interests. The “Guidelines” specify emergency response measures and key points for evidence collection following leakage incidents at enterprises, systematically sort out relief avenues such as administrative protection, criminal protection, civil protection, and special circumstances, and provide enterprises with clear guidance for rights protection, thereby enhancing their confidence in safeguarding their rights in accordance with the law.
The newly issued “Guidelines” focus on ex ante risk prevention, guiding enterprises to shift away from the previous passive model of “post-incident remedy” and to establish normalized and proactive confidentiality prevention and control mechanisms. Next, the Taiyuan Municipal Administration for Market Regulation will carry out a series of policy briefings, specialized compliance training, and on-site one-on-one targeted guidance services for enterprises throughout the city, promote the improvement of internal confidentiality management systems within enterprises, comprehensively enhance the level of compliance management for trade secrets citywide, continuously create a fair, transparent, safe, and stable business environment, and make every effort to safeguard enterprises’ core market competitiveness.
Source: Taiyuan Municipal Administration for Market Regulation
Typical Cases
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court and two other entities jointly released eight typical cases on trade secret protection
To fully leverage the exemplary and deterrent role of typical cases and effectively enhance enterprises’ awareness and capacity in trade secret protection, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, the Shenzhen People’s Procuratorate, and the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation jointly released eight typical cases on trade secret protection. The cases cover criminal, civil, and administrative protection of trade secrets and collectively demonstrate the proactive efforts of Shenzhen’s judicial and administrative authorities in working collaboratively to continuously optimize the innovation ecosystem through high-level trade secret protection and to foster a first-class, law-based business environment.
Source: Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court
The Sichuan Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, together with the Sichuan High People’s Court, released six typical cases on trade secret protection
Recently, the Sichuan Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, together with the Sichuan High People’s Court, released six typical cases on trade secret protection, covering two major categories: technical secrets and business secrets. The cases involve full-spectrum protection scenarios, including civil judicial adjudication, administrative regulatory penalties, and criminal accountability. They demonstrate that Sichuan’s judicial and administrative authorities attach great importance to trade secret protection, continuously strengthen coordinated linkage between law enforcement and the judiciary, severely crack down on illegal acts infringing trade secrets, and effectively safeguard enterprises’ core rights and interests and the order of fair competition.
Source: Sichuan Provincial Administration for Market Regulation
