Direct answer

A China trade secret is secret, valuable, and actually protected — not merely labelled confidential.

AUCL Article 9 protects technical and business information that (1) is not known to the public, (2) has commercial value, and (3) the right holder has taken corresponding confidentiality measures to keep secret. A stamp that says ‘confidential’ is not enough if files sit on an open WeCom group. Employees, former staff, suppliers and hackers can all be respondents. Civil, administrative and criminal tracks exist; they need different evidence. This live URL is the definition-and-framework page — we are not creating what-is-a-trade-secret-under-chinese-law as a second slug.

The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

Is the information actually not public?

Published patents, product reverse-engineering that is easy, and industry know-how fail this limb.

Secrecy
02

Does it have commercial value?

Customer lists, source, process parameters and bidding models usually do; trivia does not.

Value
03

Were corresponding measures real?

Access control, marking, NDAs/NNN, and exit return — contemporaneous, not after the leak.

Measures
04

Which track fits the harm?

Civil injunction, SAMR, or criminal referral are different files.

Track

Working rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Label only
Was the only ‘measure’ a footer that says confidential?
Courts look for corresponding measures, not vocabulary.
Already public
Did you patent the same process, or sell the machine without NDA?
Public information is not a trade secret.
Wrong respondent
Is the copier an employee, a factory, or a later competitor with no contract?
AUCL still applies, but the evidence path changes.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Secret identificationWhat exactly is claimed, in a list you can show a court.
02Measures fileAccess logs, marking, NDA/NNN, handbook and exit certificates.
03Value fileWhy the information gives a competitive edge.
04Misappropriation tracesWho accessed, copied, used or disclosed, and when.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Is a customer list automatically a trade secret?

No. It must be non-public, valuable, and protected. See the customer-list Quick Answer.

Do we need a registration?

No CNIPA registration creates a trade secret. Measures and proof do. Patents and trademarks are the opposite model.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

National laws database (NPC)
Anti-Unfair Competition Law (gov.cn)
SAMR
Supreme People’s Court