Recently, the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation issued the Guidelines for Trade Secret Protection in the Low-Altitude Economy Industry and the Guidelines for Trade Secret Protection in the Biomedical Industry. These two documents provide practical, full-cycle guidance covering pre-event prevention, in-process control and post-event remedy for trade secret protection in the two strategic emerging industries, thus supporting and boosting the development of new-quality productive forces.
As important components of Shenzhen’s “20+8” industrial clusters, the low-altitude economy and biomedical industry, characterized by strong innovation momentum and prominent strategic value, are emerging as key engines driving the high-quality economic development of Shenzhen. These two technology-intensive and innovation-driven sectors rely heavily on core trade secrets such as proprietary algorithms and clinical trial data, which are directly tied to the core competitiveness of enterprises. Consequently, the demand for robust trade secret protection in these fields has become increasingly pressing. Based on in-depth research, the two Guidelines put forward targeted protection strategies tailored to the characteristics of the industries. These strategies include effective identification and definition of trade secrets, improvement of internal trade secret protection systems, prevention of infringement upon others’ trade secrets, as well as legal remedies in case of trade secret violations. They help enterprises establish a comprehensive protection system spanning research and development, production and commercialization.
In addition, the Guidelines include a dedicated chapter on typical cases, which clarifies relevant laws through real-life examples addressing key concerns of enterprises. These concerns involve illegal disclosure of technical secrets, information leakage by partners, protection of customer lists and repeated infringements after settlement. The documents also compile public service resources for trade secret protection in Shenzhen, detailing the content and application methods of three public welfare services: counseling on the construction of trade secret management systems, online risk assessment for trade secret management, and one-on-one guidance on cross-border trade secret protection. These features highlight the distinct practical and enabling orientation of the Guidelines.
The issuance of the two guidelines reflects Shenzhen’s continuous efforts to strengthen trade secret protection. As one of the first national pilot areas for innovative trade secret protection, Shenzhen has successively released more than 10 standards and guidelines, including China’s first group standards for trade secret protection in the fields of artificial intelligence and embodied intelligent robots. The city has built a city-wide offline service network consisting of bases, service windows and workstations, along with an online service platform, providing guidance to over 1,000 enterprises in establishing trade secret management systems. Furthermore, Shenzhen has jointly set up the Golden Inner Bay Cross-Border Trade Secret Protection Base with the Guangdong Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, offering full-chain, professional guidance to enterprises in handling overseas trade secret disputes. The Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation has also formulated the Administrative Law Enforcement Guidelines for Trade Secret Infringement, continuously intensifying law enforcement efforts. Since the launch of the innovation pilot program, a total of 31 trade secret infringement cases have been investigated and handled, with fines and confiscations totaling 2.56 million yuan, and 3 cases have been transferred for criminal prosecution. These measures have effectively safeguarded the rights and interests of innovation entities. Meanwhile, Shenzhen organizes an annual “Service Month for Improving Enterprises’ Trade Secret Protection Capabilities”, hosting over 400 law popularization training sessions to continuously enhance enterprises’ awareness and capabilities in trade secret protection, fostering a sound atmosphere of respecting trade secrets and upholding business ethics.
The release of the guidelines is a targeted response to the protection needs of the low-altitude economy and biomedical industry. Currently, both guidelines are officially available for free download through the “Trade Secret Protection” special service section on the official website of the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation. This initiative marks a solid step forward for Shenzhen in strengthening trade secret protection in specific industrial sectors, and will continue to inject new impetus into the city’s efforts to accelerate the development of new-quality productive forces and build an industrial technology innovation center with global influence.
