Employee Trade Secret Theft in China

Prove the secret, the measures, and that this person took or used it — then pick labour, AUCL or crime.

Employees are the highest-frequency respondents. During employment they have access; on exit they have a new employer. A trade-secret case still needs the three AUCL limbs plus evidence of acquisition, disclosure or use. USB copies, personal email, WeChat files and still-open VPN tokens are typical traces. Confidentiality duties apply without monthly pay; a non-compete needs compensation and only stops certain jobs. Do not skip the labour investigation process if you also want a for-cause dismissal. Criminal referral is for serious, high-value theft — not a routine HR dispute.

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.

What secret did they have access to?

Identify it before you image everything.

Secret

What traces show taking?

Logs, devices, personal accounts, timing versus resignation.

Taking

Is there use at the new company?

Same code, list, or process appearing after the move.

Use

Which tools besides AUCL?

Dismissal, non-compete, copyright, criminal referral.

Stack

Working rule: Employees are the highest-frequency respondents. During employment they have access; on exit they have a new employer.

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

Access after notice

Did they download after resigning?

Timing is powerful evidence of taking.

No measures

Was the drive open to the whole team?

AUCL may fail even if the taking looks ugly.

New job only

Are you suing only because they joined a competitor?

Without taking/use, you need a paid non-compete, not a secret case.

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.

01Role and accessWhy they could see the secret.

02Forensic tracesUSB, email, cloud, WeChat and copied Git repositories.

03DutiesLabor contract, handbook, NDA, non-compete pay.

04Use at destinationProduct, code or customer overlap after the move.

Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

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

Can we search their personal WeChat?

Not as a default. Company WeCom and devices are different from personal accounts. See the WeChat-review Quick Answer.

Should we fire first or sue first?

Preserve first. A sloppy Art. 39 firing can become its own labour case while the secret walks.

Primary authorities

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

National laws database (NPC)

Anti-Unfair Competition Law (gov.cn)

PRC Labor Contract Law (gov.cn)

Supreme People’s Court