China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has recently promulgated the Regulation on the Protection of Trade Secrets (the "Regulation"). Effective from June 1 this year, the Regulation will replace the Several Provisions on Prohibiting Infringements upon Trade Secrets, which has been in force for over 30 years. Evolving from a 12-article principle-based framework focused on "prohibition of infringement" in 1995 to a meticulously crafted 31-article framework centered on "systematic protection" in 2026, the Regulation not only reshapes the trade secret protection system but also adapts to the developmental needs of the digital economy. It introduces groundbreaking provisions concerning the protected subject matter, infringement determination, confidentiality measures, and lawful defenses.

A translation by China IP follows for ease of reference:

Regulation on the Protection of Trade Secrets

(Issued by Order No. 126 of the State Administration for Market Regulation on February 24, 2026, and effective as of June 1, 2026)

Article 1 This Regulation is formulated in accordance with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Anti-Unfair Competition Law) for the purposes of strengthening the protection of trade secrets and maintaining fair competition order in the market.

Article 2 Business operators shall adhere to the principles of voluntariness, equality, fairness, and good faith when acquiring, disclosing, using, or permitting others to use trade secrets. They shall comply with laws, regulations, rules, and commercial ethics, and participate in market competition fairly. 

For the purpose of this Regulation, "business operators" refer to natural persons, legal persons, and unincorporated organizations engaged in the production or sale of goods or the provision of services (hereinafter, "goods" include services).

Article 3 The State Administration for Market Regulation is responsible for organizing and guiding the national administrative protection of trade secrets.

Local market regulatory departments at or above the county level are responsible for the administrative protection of trade secrets within their respective administrative regions.

Cases involving technical secrets shall generally be under the jurisdiction of market regulatory departments at or above the level of a city divided into districts. However, with the consent of the State Administration for Market Regulation and based on work requirements, such cases may also fall under the jurisdiction of county-level market regulatory departments with corresponding law enforcement capabilities.

Article 4 Market regulatory departments shall guide business operators in establishing and improving their trade secret protection systems, strengthening their awareness and capabilities regarding trade secret protection, and promoting the overall enhancement of trade secret protection levels through methods such as conducting publicity and interpretation activities and organizing specialized training.

Business operators are encouraged to establish and improve a management system for trade secret protection. Based on their industry characteristics, technical requirements, and competitive advantages, they should actively adopt effective measures to strengthen internal control and compliance management of confidential elements, and to prevent and stop acts of infringing upon trade secrets. Business operators are encouraged to innovate in the forms of trade secret protection, strengthening protection through means such as certification and deposit of evidence.

Industry organizations shall strengthen industry self-discipline, guiding and regulating business operators within the industry to compete lawfully and maintain market competition order by formulating industry-specific trade secret protection rules and compliance guidelines, among other methods.

Article 5 For the purpose of this Regulation, "trade secrets" refer to commercial information such as technical information and business information that is not known to the public, has commercial value, and for which the rights holder has taken corresponding confidentiality measures.

Information related to technology, such as structure, raw materials, formulas, materials, samples, patterns, processes, methods, data, algorithms, computer programs, and source code, constitutes "technical information" as mentioned in the first paragraph of this article.

Information related to business activities, such as creativity, management, sales, finance, plans, samples, customer information, and data, constitutes "business information" as mentioned in the first paragraph. Customer information includes the customer's name, address, contact information, as well as transaction habits, intentions, content, and other details.

Article 6 For the purpose of this Regulation, "not known to the public" means that, at the time the alleged act of infringing upon a trade secret occurs, the relevant commercial information is not generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the relevant circles.

The following circumstances constitute information being known to the public:

(1) The information constitutes general knowledge or an industry practice within the relevant field;

(2) The information only involves aspects such as the dimensions, structure, material, or simple combination of components of a product, and is directly obtainable by persons in the relevant circles through observing a product already on the market;

(3) The information has been publicly disclosed in public publications or other media; 

(4) The information has been made public through open seminars, exhibitions, or similar means;

(5) The information is obtainable by persons in the relevant circles from other public channels.

If new information is formed by organizing, improving, or processing commercial information that is known to the public, and it meets the conditions specified in the first paragraph of this article, it shall be considered "not known to the public".

Article 7 For the purpose of this Regulation, "having commercial value" means that the commercial information possesses actual or potential value, capable of bringing commercial benefits or competitive advantages to the rights holder, such as increased assets, growth in operating revenue or profits, an increase in the number of users, reduction in costs and expenses, shortened research and development time, increased transaction opportunities, or enhanced business reputation or commodity reputation.

Interim results formed during production or business activities, or experimental data, technical solutions that failed, etc., which meet the conditions of the first paragraph of this article, constitute circumstances of "having commercial value".

Article 8 For the purpose of this Regulation, "rights holder" refers to the owner of a trade secret, as well as licensees or authorized persons who have obtained permission or authorization from the owner of the trade secret. 

Article 9 For the purpose of this Regulation, "rights holder has taken corresponding confidentiality measures" means that the rights holder has adopted reasonable confidentiality measures appropriate to factors such as the nature of the trade secret and its carrier, and the commercial value of the trade secret, in order to prevent its disclosure.

The following circumstances constitute "corresponding confidentiality measures" taken by the rights holder:

(1) Entering into confidentiality agreements or stipulating confidentiality obligations in contracts;

(2) Imposing confidentiality requirements on employees, former employees, suppliers, customers, visitors, etc., who may access or acquire trade secrets, through methods such as establishing internal rules and regulations, conducting training, or providing written notifications;

(3) Prohibiting or restricting access to, or implementing differentiated management of, production or business premises such as factories, workshops, laboratories, and offices where trade secrets are involved;

(4) Adopting technical confidentiality measures such as permission grading, data masking, and operation log tracing for scenarios like remote work and cross-border collaboration;

(5) Implementing differentiated management of trade secrets and their carriers by means such as marking, classification, segregation, encryption, sealing, or restricting the scope of personnel who can access or acquire the trade secrets or their carriers;

(6) Adopting measures such as prohibiting or restricting the use, access, storage, or copying of computer equipment, network equipment, storage devices, etc., that can access or acquire trade secrets;

(7) Requiring departing employees to register, return, clear, or destroy the trade secrets and their carriers they have accessed or acquired, and to continue to assume confidentiality obligations;

(8) Adopting other reasonable confidentiality measures.

Article 10 Business operators shall not acquire trade secrets of a rights holder by theft, bribery, fraud, coercion, electronic intrusion, or any other illegitimate means.

The following circumstances constitute "illegitimate means" as mentioned in this Regulation:

(1) Accessing, possessing, or copying, without authorization or beyond the authorized scope, carriers such as documents, items, materials, or raw materials that contain trade secrets or from which trade secrets can be deduced, which are under the control of the rights holder;

(2) Bribing, coercing, or deceiving employees, former employees, or other units or individuals of the rights holder to obtain trade secrets for oneself by offering property or other proprietary interests, or through personal threats;

(3) Accessing, without authorization or beyond the authorized scope, the rights holder's digital office systems, servers, email, cloud storage, application accounts, etc., or acquiring trade secrets through technical means such as setting up malicious programs or exploiting vulnerabilities;

(4) Downloading or transmitting trade secrets, without authorization, beyond the authorized scope, or after the authorization period has expired, to network storage spaces (such as email or cloud storage) or electronic devices not controlled by the rights holder;

(5) Other illegitimate means of acquiring the rights holder's trade secrets.

Article 11 Business operators shall not disclose, use, or permit others to use trade secrets of a rights holder that were acquired by illegitimate means.

For the purpose of this Regulation, "disclose" means leaking the trade secret to a third party other than the rights holder, or making the trade secret public so that it is generally known or readily accessible to the relevant public.

For the purpose of this Regulation, "use" means directly using the trade secret, or using it after modification or improvement, or adjusting or improving relevant production or business activities based on the trade secret.

Article 12 Business operators shall not disclose, use, or permit others to use the trade secrets in their possession in violation of a confidentiality obligation or in violation of the rights holder's requirements for keeping the trade secrets confidential.

Confidentiality obligations or the rights holder's requirements for keeping trade secrets confidential generally include the following circumstances:

(1) Agreeing to maintain trade secret confidentiality in contracts such as labor contracts, confidentiality agreements, or sales contracts;

(2) In the absence of a contractual agreement, being obligated to maintain trade secret confidentiality based on the nature, purpose, and transaction practices of the contract, commercial ethics, and adhering to the principle of good faith;

(3) The rights holder imposing confidentiality requirements on relevant parties who become aware of the trade secret, including but not limited to parties who learn of the trade secret through contractual relationships, or through participation in activities such as research and development, production, inspection, or certification;

(4) In the absence of a contractual agreement, the rights holder explicitly imposing requirements for keeping trade secrets confidential on employees, former employees, partners, etc., through internal rules and regulations or reasonable confidentiality measures;

(5) Other circumstances where a confidentiality obligation exists or where the rights holder imposes requirements for keeping trade secrets confidential.

Article 13 Business operators shall not abet, induce, or assist others in acquiring, disclosing, using, or permitting others to use a rights holder's trade secrets in violation of a confidentiality obligation or in violation of the rights holder's requirements for keeping the trade secrets confidential.

The following circumstances constitute acts of abetting, inducing, or assisting others to infringe upon trade secrets: 

(1) Encouraging or instructing others to infringe upon trade secrets, whether explicitly or implicitly;

(2) Inducing others to infringe upon trade secrets through material rewards or non-material inducements (such as promises of promotion), whether explicitly or implicitly;

(3) Providing facilitating conditions such as funds, technology, or equipment to others, while knowing or having reason to know that they are infringing upon trade secrets;

(4) Other acts of abetting, inducing, or assisting others to infringe upon trade secrets.

Article 14 If any natural person, legal person, or unincorporated organization other than a business operator commits the illegal acts specified in Articles 10 to 13 of this Regulation, they shall be deemed to have infringed upon trade secrets.

If a third party, while knowing or having reason to know that an employee, former employee, partner, or other unit or individual of the trade secret rights holder is committing the illegal acts specified in Articles 10 to 13 of this Regulation, still acquires, discloses, uses, or permits others to use the trade secret, they shall be deemed to have infringed upon the trade secret.

When determining whether a third party "knows or has reason to know", comprehensive consideration shall be given to factors such as the degree of confidentiality of the relevant commercial information, the reasonableness of the acquisition channels and methods, the transaction price, the relationship between the third party and the trade secret rights holder, and industry practices.

Article 15 The following acts generally do not constitute infringement of trade secrets:

(1) Independent discovery or self-developed research;

(2) Obtaining technical information related to a product by disassembling, mapping, analyzing, or similar means from a product lawfully obtained from public channels;

(3) A former employee of the trade secret rights holder performing their work using general knowledge, skills, or industry experience accumulated during their employment, or using industry information obtainable from public channels;

(4) Disclosing trade secrets to state organs, statutory bodies performing administrative functions, or their staff in accordance with the law, for purposes such as exposing illegal or criminal acts, safeguarding national security, or public interest;

(5) Other acts that do not constitute infringement of trade secrets.

Article 16 All organizations and individuals are encouraged, supported, and protected in conducting social supervision over acts of infringing upon trade secrets. Market regulatory departments shall keep confidential the information of whistleblowers and organizations and individuals who assist in investigating and handling acts of infringing upon trade secrets.

Article 17 A rights holder who believes their trade secret has been infringed may file a report with the market regulatory department.

When filing a report, the rights holder shall provide preliminary evidence that their commercial information constitutes a trade secret and specific leads indicating the alleged infringement of that trade secret, and shall be responsible for the truthfulness of the reported content. Market regulatory departments may, based on work requirements, request the reporting party to supplement the report materials.

No organization or individual shall fabricate facts of trade secret infringement to falsely accuse others or commit extortion, nor shall they abuse the right to report to disrupt market competition order or market supervision and administration order.

Article 18 Preliminary evidentiary materials demonstrating that the rights holder's commercial information constitutes a trade secret generally include the following: 

(1) The formation process and formation time of the commercial information;

(2) Evidence that the commercial information is not known to the public or does not fall under the circumstances listed in the second paragraph of Article 6 of this Regulation;

(3) The commercial value of the commercial information; 

(4) The confidentiality measures taken by the rights holder for the commercial information;

(5) Other evidentiary materials capable of proving that the rights holder's commercial information constitutes a trade secret.

The following leads may generally serve as specific leads indicating the alleged infringement of the trade secret:

(1) Leads indicating that the person allegedly infringing the trade secret (hereinafter referred to as the "alleged infringer") had the channel or opportunity to access the trade secret;

(2) Leads indicating that the confidentiality measures for the trade secret were breached by the alleged infringer through illegitimate means;

(3) Leads indicating that the alleged infringer has actually obtained the trade secret;

(4) Leads indicating that the trade secret has been disclosed or used by the alleged infringer, or is at risk of being disclosed or used;

(5) Other leads indicating that the trade secret has been infringed upon by the alleged infringer.

Article 19 Upon receiving a reported lead, the market regulatory department shall conduct an investigation in accordance with the law and decide whether to file a case.

After investigation, a case shall be filed if the following conditions are met:

(1) There is preliminary evidence suggesting the existence of an act of infringing upon a trade secret, for which administrative penalties should be imposed according to law; 

(2) The case falls within the department's jurisdiction;

(3) The case is within the statutory time limit for imposing administrative penalties.

Article 20 The alleged infringer, interested parties, and other relevant units and individuals shall truthfully provide relevant materials or information to the market regulatory department.

If there is evidence proving that the information used by the alleged infringer is substantially the same as the trade secret claimed by the rights holder, and that the alleged infringer had the conditions to obtain the trade secret, the market regulatory department may determine that the alleged infringer has committed an act of infringing upon the trade secret, except where there is evidence proving that the information used by the alleged infringer was lawfully obtained or used.

Article 21 Market regulatory departments and their staff have a legal duty to maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets learned during investigations and shall not unlawfully disclose, use, or permit others to use the rights holder's trade secrets.

When market regulatory departments publicly disclose administrative penalty decisions in accordance with the law, they shall not disclose the content involving trade secrets.

Article 22 The rights holder or the alleged infringer may entrust a legally qualified appraisal institution to appraise specific matters such as whether the rights holder's information is known to the public, or whether the information used by the alleged infringer is substantially the same as the rights holder's information. They may also entrust persons with specialized knowledge to provide expert opinions on the above matters, and submit the appraisal results or expert opinions to the market regulatory department.

Article 23 When investigating suspected acts of infringing upon trade secrets, market regulatory departments may take the following measures:

(1) Entering the business premises where the suspected infringement is taking place for inspection;

(2) Interrogating the alleged infringer, interested parties, and other relevant units or individuals under investigation, and requiring them to explain the relevant circumstances or provide other materials related to the act under investigation;

(3) Consulting and copying agreements, account books, invoices, documents, records, business correspondence, and other materials related to the suspected infringement;

(4) Sealing or seizing property and articles related to the suspected infringement;

(5) Inquiring into the bank accounts of the business operator suspected of the infringement.

Measures specified in the first paragraph of this article shall be reported in writing to and approved by the principal head of the market regulatory department. Measures specified in items (4) and (5) of the first paragraph of this article shall be reported in writing to and approved by the principal head of the market regulatory department at or above the level of a city divided into districts.

When conducting investigations or requesting assistance in investigations according to law, market regulatory departments and their staff shall avoid or minimize any impact on the normal production and business activities of the operators.

Article 24 Anyone who violates this Regulation by infringing upon trade secrets shall be ordered by the market regulatory department at or above the county level, in accordance with Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, to cease the illegal act, have their illegal income confiscated, and be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 1,000,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be fined not less than 1,000,000 yuan but not more than 5,000,000 yuan.

Article 25 When an order to cease the illegal act is issued in accordance with Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the period for ceasing the illegal act shall generally last until the relevant commercial information no longer constitutes a trade secret.

An order to cease the illegal act generally includes:

(1) Ordering the infringer to cease using the rights holder's trade secret, unless the rights holder consents otherwise;

(2) Ordering the infringer to return the carrier of the trade secret to the rights holder or to destroy it;

(3) Ordering the infringer to destroy infringing products or intermediate goods containing the trade secret, unless the rights holder agrees to other disposal methods such as purchasing or selling them;

(4) Ordering the infringer to delete or clear the rights holder's trade secret that they have obtained;

(5) Other measures ordering the cessation of acts infringing upon the rights holder's trade secrets.

Article 26 The following circumstances constitute "serious circumstances" as mentioned in Article 26 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law:

(1) Causing relatively large direct losses to the rights holder;

(2) Causing significant adverse impact on the rights holder's production and business activities;

(3) Jeopardizing national interests or public interests;

(4) Committing another act of infringing upon trade secrets within two years of receiving an administrative penalty for a similar infringement;

(5) Other circumstances where the circumstances are serious.

Article 27 If a violation of this Regulation constitutes a crime, the violator shall be transferred to the judicial authorities for criminal liability in accordance with the law.

Article 28 If the commercial information mentioned in this Regulation constitutes a state secret, it shall be protected in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets.

Article 29 Acts of infringing upon trade secrets committed outside the territory of the People's Republic of China that disrupt market competition order within the territory and harm the legitimate rights and interests of business operators within the territory shall be dealt with in accordance with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and relevant laws.

Article 30 If laws or administrative regulations stipulate that other departments are responsible for the supervision and inspection of acts infringing upon trade secrets, those provisions shall prevail.

Article 31 This Regulation shall come into effect as of June 1, 2026. The Several Provisions on Prohibiting Acts of Infringing upon Trade Secrets promulgated by Order No. 41 of the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce on November 23, 1995, shall be simultaneously abolished.