Main manifestations and risk analysis of trade secret infringement in cross-border e-commerce

In the era of big data, the protection of corporate trade secrets faces unprecedented challenges. Especially in cross-border e-commerce activities, the infringement of trade secrets is particularly prominent. The rapid development of various technological means has provided convenience to enterprises, but it has also put the security of trade secrets under severe tests.

Main manifestations of infringement

1. Obtain trade secrets by improper means
   According to Article 9, Paragraph 1, of my country’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law, operators shall not obtain business secrets through improper means such as theft, bribery, and fraud. In actual operations, hackers use Trojan viruses and other technical means to invade corporate computers, e-mails, or databases and steal business secrets. This behavior is particularly common in the era of big data.

2. Illegal disclosure and use of trade secrets
   An obvious infringement is the illegal disclosure of trade secrets obtained through unfair means. Such behavior includes uploading trade secrets to various social platforms or forums, causing the right holder’s trade secrets to lose confidentiality. Paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law explicitly prohibits such behavior.

3. Improper use and disclosure of legitimately sourced trade secrets
   This includes breach of contract by units or individuals that have business relationships with the right holder and leaking commercial secrets held by individuals. Employee misconduct, whether on or off the job, will damage the integrity and usefulness of trade secrets, thus affecting their value.

4. Malicious acquisition and disclosure by third parties
   Such behavior usually involves the abuse of hacking techniques, whereby competitors intrude into computer information systems, deliberately spread viruses or perform data tampering in order to obtain or leak trade secrets.

Security risks of cross-border data storage and flow

With the generalization of cross-border data storage and flow, trade secrets face security risks. The international community does not yet have clear and unified supervision of this phenomenon, and the cross-border flow of data puts companies at greater risk of leakage. The meaning of cross-border data transfer includes the transfer and processing of data across national borders, or data that is not cross-border but can be easily accessed by third-country subjects, which is particularly concerning. In this regard, companies should take proactive measures to maintain data security of trade secrets.

my country’s “E-Commerce Law” has been implemented since 2019, which clearly requires e-commerce operators to provide relevant data under the requirements of laws and administrative regulations. The competent authorities must take necessary measures to ensure the security of these data information, especially for commercial businesses. Protection of secrets. However, if relevant personnel leak, sell or illegally provide collected information due to negligence, they will be held legally responsible, which also reflects the importance of trade secret protection.

To sum up, in the rapidly developing cross-border e-commerce environment, enterprises must attach great importance to the protection of trade secrets and resist multiple risks by improving laws, regulations and technical measures.