The State of Trade Secret Protection in China in Light of the U.S.-China Trade Wars: Trade Secret Protection in China Before and After the U.S.-China Trade Agreement of January 15, 2020, 20 UIC Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 108 (2021)
Paolo Beconcini · UIC Law Open Access Repository (University of Illinois at Chicago) · 2021
The article contains a thorough review of the recent amendments of China's regulations on trade secret protection and enforcement, in light of the U.S. WTO lawsuit of 2018 and the U.S.-China Trade Wars.This article analyzes in detail the U.S. demands for specific amendments to critical features of trade secret protection in China, such as shifting the burden of proof and lowering the thresholds to access criminal enforcement, and how China is meeting such expectations and its commitments to change as embodied in the first Chapter of the January 15, 2020 U.S.-China Economic and Trade Agreement.This article analyzes the most recent Chinese regulations and Supreme People's Court interpretations of July and September 2020 to determine whether they are implementing any of the Trade Agreement's commitments.This article also provides analysis and suggestions about further needed changes in China trade secret law, as well as practical guidance to practitioners on to how best navigate trade secret enforcement challenges in China.