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Secret · 04 Editorial guide

China NNN, Trade Secrets and AI Training-Data Copyright

Trade-secret protection requires identifiable non-public commercial or technical information, commercial value and corresponding confidentiality measures. The revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law has applied since 15 October 2025; an NNN is one control, not the whole proof file.

First job Put a China-shaped NNN and secrecy measures in place before drawings leave the building.

Start here

Decision railwhat is being protected → NNN/secret measures → corpus rights → output risk → enforcement
See routing facts

Start here

Key considerations

The first questions are about urgency, governance and preservation — before collection expands or interviews begin.

  1. What must not be copied or used?
  2. Who will receive drawings or tools?
  3. What measures already exist?

Direct answer

What this page decides

Owner
02

This page keeps BC02/NNN and trade-secret measures, and hosts AI04 copyright/licence issues for training data. Scraping, public data, licences, provenance and output infringement are IP questions. Personal information in the same corpus is Data/PIPL. Supporting insight: /generative-ai-and-copyright-in-china-where-the-boundaries-of-infringement-lie — not the canonical filing owner.

At a glance

Which fact changes the next route

Use the fact that changes ownership or urgency to decide the next move.

Facts that change the next investigation route
QuestionWhy it mattersNext route
OEM drawings to a factory?Classic NNN./nnn-agreement-china-manufacturing
Training a model on crawled sites?Copyright + PI.This page + Data PIPL L4.
Need algorithm filing?Data programme L4.

Scope

What this page owns — and what it does not

NNN + AI04 IP side.
PI stays Data.

Practical workflow

Action, evidence, legal gate, output

Practical workflow
ActionDocuments / evidenceLegal gateOutput
If manufacturing disclosure: NNN firstParties, non-use, non-circumventionChina-shaped NNN not a US NDANNN
If a training corpus: rights mapLicences, public terms, employee worksProvenanceCorpus file
Output and infringementSimilar works, opt-outsInsight article is not a clearanceRisk note

Documents

What to gather before the next call

These items help clarify the file; they are not a legal requirement list.

Documents to gather before instructing counsel
ItemWhy neededWho holds itRisk if missing
NNN and secrecy measuresSecretsLegalUnenforceable NDA
Corpus licences and crawl logsAI04ProductUnlicensed training

Common failure points

Where files usually break

  1. Training on customer files under an NDA that only mentions ‘internal use’.

FAQ

Narrow follow-ups owned by this page

Who owns AI training data?

Split: copyright/licence here; PI on Data; filing on Data programme.

Decision map

Keep the question bounded.

  1. Define the secret preciselyCreate a versioned register of technical and business information, its economic value, what is public, where it resides and which combinations remain non-public.
  2. Limit access by role and transactionUse least privilege, separate repositories, authentication, download and print controls, markings, visitor rules and logged disclosure packages.
  3. Contract for the actual riskAlign employee, contractor, JV, supplier and manufacturer terms to non-use, disclosure, circumvention, ownership, return, audit and remedies; identify recipients and purpose.
  4. Preserve proof and respondRetain access, transfer and training records; on suspected loss, stop continuing access, preserve devices and logs lawfully, map acquisition/use/disclosure and coordinate employment, data and court relief.

Quick answers

Need the short version? Start with one narrow question.

These explainers answer one question. They do not replace this topic route or a deep guide.

Quick AnswerTrade Secret vs Confidential Information in ChinaChina: confidentiality by contract versus AUCL trade secret — three limbs, who is bound, and which remedies each layer supports.Quick AnswerManufacturing Know-How as a Trade Secret in ChinaManufacturing know-how as a China trade secret: process parameters, plant access, NNN with the real factory, and patent-disclosure limits.Quick AnswerWhat Information Can Be a Trade Secret in China?What can be a China trade secret: technical and business information that is non-public, valuable and protected — not patents, trivia or public facts.Quick AnswerSupplier Trade Secret Risk in ChinaSupplier trade-secret risk in China: bind the real factory, flow-down to sub-suppliers, gated drawings, and trader-only NNN holes.Quick AnswerWhat Is a Trade Secret Under Chinese Law?PRC trade secrets are information that is non-public, valuable and under confidentiality measures. Reviewed 6 Sep 2026.Quick AnswerWhat Is a Trade Secret Under Chinese Law?China trade secrets under AUCL: not public, commercial value, corresponding confidentiality measures, and the civil/admin/criminal tracks.

Curated resources

Open the asset that matches this job.

01
Guide

Anti-Unfair Competition Law revised in 2025

Official NPC text, effective 15 October 2025, including the current trade-secret definition and prohibited conduct.

Helpful to prepare

Facts that make the next conversation clearer.

These items are orientation aids, not a legal requirement list.

Secret definition and ownerRecipients, purpose and access levelApplicable contract and technical controlsProof that measures operated before the incidentEmployee exit, supplier termination and return recordUrgent evidence, injunction, employment and data-law escalation

Evidence file

Preserve the record before the forum is chosen.

This is a preparation prompt, not a finding that any item is admissible or required.

  1. Versioned secret register and public-domain comparison
  2. Value, development cost and competitive-use evidence
  3. Access permissions, download/export logs and repository history
  4. Signed employee, supplier, JV, NNN and exit documents
  5. Marking, training, visitor, device and return/destruction records
  6. Incident chronology, suspected acquisition/use/disclosure and preservation log

Counsel hand-off

What to bring when you instruct

Instruct IP counsel (privacy if PI). Bring: NNN or corpus description and intended model use.

Local context

Add the city when the enforcement forum changes.

AIC/SAMR and court practice can differ after the national IP route is identified.

Open city and province guides

Counsel hand-off

Need IP counsel?

This hub organises filing, secrets and enforcement routes. It does not register rights, stop a squatter or bind CNIPA on your facts.

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