Recently, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) made a final judgment in a dispute over technical secret infringement concerning blast furnace gas purification technology, clarifying that the overall technical secret can constitute a trade secret. The court applied punitive damages-two times-against the malicious infringing party and ordered the infringing party and co-infringing entities to pay a total of CNY 50.3 million for economic losses and reasonable costs for rights protection.
In this case, a Beijing technology company held technical secrets for dry blast furnace gas purification processes and equipment design, and were in cooperation with a Jiangsu environmental protection company to start project, signing a confidentiality agreement. Subsequently, the environmental protection company, without authorization, utilized the involved technical secrets and collaborated with a Beijing environmental engineering company and other companies to undertake BOT related projects. The contract value reached approximately CNY 309 million, which severely infringing the technology holder’s rights and benefit.
The Supreme People’s Court found that the involved technology, as a whole, possessed secrecy, value, and confidentiality measures, thus legally constituting a trade secret. The Jiangsu environmental protection company maliciously violated its confidentiality obligations, and the other two defendants failed to exercise reasonable due diligence, constituting joint infringement. Considering the infringing circumstances, malicious intent, and project scale, the court applied punitive damages against the primary infringing party.
Given the project’s environmental public welfare attributes, the court did not order the cessation of project operation but explicitly prohibited the three defendants from continuing to use or disclose the involved technical secrets outside of the project in question. The court also delineated joint liability, ordering the Beijing environmental engineering company and Qian’an wire company to bear joint liability within specified amounts.
This final judgment further strengthens judicial protection for technical secrets, clarifies the rules for applying punitive damages in cases of malicious infringement, and serves as a typical guiding case for regulating technical cooperation in the environmental field and curbing the misappropriation and use of technical secrets. (Mar. 27, 2026, IP Economy)
In this case, a Beijing technology company held technical secrets for dry blast furnace gas purification processes and equipment design, and were in cooperation with a Jiangsu environmental protection company to start project, signing a confidentiality agreement. Subsequently, the environmental protection company, without authorization, utilized the involved technical secrets and collaborated with a Beijing environmental engineering company and other companies to undertake BOT related projects. The contract value reached approximately CNY 309 million, which severely infringing the technology holder’s rights and benefit.
The Supreme People’s Court found that the involved technology, as a whole, possessed secrecy, value, and confidentiality measures, thus legally constituting a trade secret. The Jiangsu environmental protection company maliciously violated its confidentiality obligations, and the other two defendants failed to exercise reasonable due diligence, constituting joint infringement. Considering the infringing circumstances, malicious intent, and project scale, the court applied punitive damages against the primary infringing party.
Given the project’s environmental public welfare attributes, the court did not order the cessation of project operation but explicitly prohibited the three defendants from continuing to use or disclose the involved technical secrets outside of the project in question. The court also delineated joint liability, ordering the Beijing environmental engineering company and Qian’an wire company to bear joint liability within specified amounts.
This final judgment further strengthens judicial protection for technical secrets, clarifies the rules for applying punitive damages in cases of malicious infringement, and serves as a typical guiding case for regulating technical cooperation in the environmental field and curbing the misappropriation and use of technical secrets. (Mar. 27, 2026, IP Economy)