Date: 26 February 2026
The Provisions on the Protection of Trade Secrets (the New Provisions), which come into force on 1 June 2026, replace the Regulation on Prohibiting Infringement upon Trade Secrets, issued in 1995, which no longer meets the needs of trade secret protection in the digital economy. Improvements to the previous Regulation include the introduction of more precise definitions and the expansion of the scope of protection to cover digital assets such as data and algorithms. The new Provisions also align with the two revisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law 2019 and 2025.
The key highlights of the New Provisions are as follows:
Source: State Administration for Market Regulation
https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/fgs/art/2026/art_a89ca909478b460595670fabe02b21d3.html
日期：2026-02-26
本次《商业秘密保护规定》（《新规》）旨在适配数字经济竞争环境，衔接《反不正当竞争法》2019、2025年的两次修订，解决1995年《关于禁止侵犯商业秘密行为的若干规定》（《旧规》）存在的概念界定模糊、保护范围较窄、未涵盖数据、算法等数字化资产等滞后问题。《新规》将自2026年6月1日起施行。
《新规》核心要点如下：
资料来源：市场监管总局
新闻链接：https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/fgs/art/2026/art_a89ca909478b460595670fabe02b21d3.html
Date: 5 February 2026
According to the Report, Shanghai courts concluded 45,000 first-instance intellectual property cases in 2025, and awarded punitive damages totalling RMB 170 million (approx. US$24.6 million).
Source: Shanghai High People’s Court
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/aiuuL_HGIaP9m2IQGMYy7A
日期：2026年2月5日
《报告》显示，2025年上海法院一审共审结知识产权案件4.5万件，适用赔偿性惩罚判赔1.7亿元。
资料来源：上海高院
新闻链接：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/aiuuL_HGIaP9m2IQGMYy7A
Date: 24 February 2026
From January to November 2025, procuratorates across China handled a total of 18,803 criminal intellectual property prosecution cases, 1,165 civil prosecution supervision cases, 1,516 administrative prosecution supervision cases, and 542 public interest litigation prosecution cases, amounting to 22,026 cases in total.
In respect of trade secret protection, from 2021 to 2024, procuratorates across China accepted 1,262 individuals for examination and prosecution for the crime of trade secret infringement. From January to November 2025, this number reached 232 individuals. To strengthen the protection of technologies, the SPP established a technical investigator system in January 2025, appointing the first batch of 60 technical investigators covering fields including machinery, chemistry, biology, medicine, electronic communications and many others. These technical investigators provide professional review opinions in complicated and difficult cases involving invention patents, trade secrets, new plant varieties, computer software and other technical intellectual property matters.
In respect of trademark protection, from January to November 2025, procuratorates across China accepted 8,470 cases involving 19,050 individuals for examination and prosecution for trademark right related crimes and prosecuted 14,488 individuals. Procuratorates in Shandong and Shanghai handled the first-ever service mark infringement criminal cases in the home appliance repair sector and children’s wear fashion show sector respectively. These cases implemented the provisions of the Amendment (XI) to the Criminal Law which brought service marks within the scope of criminal protection and responded to the growing market demand for the protection of service marks.
In respect of copyright protection, from January to November 2025, procuratorates across China handled 1,434 copyright-related cases of various types and prosecuted 915 cases involving 1,795 individuals for the crime of copyright infringement. Procuratorates strengthened the protection of well-known IPs, historical relics, time-honoured brands, and intangible cultural heritage, and stepped up protection for cultural and creative products. From January to November 2025, procuratorates prosecuted 64 criminal cases of intellectual property infringement involving cultural and creative products, including 20 cases related to the Nezha IP and 13 cases related to the Pop Mart IP.
Source: Supreme People’s Procuratorate
https://www.spp.gov.cn/2026zgjtzwlftzb/zscqjct2026/index.shtml
日期：2026-02-24
2025年1至11月，全国检察机关共办理知识产权刑事检察案件18803件，民事检察案件1165件，行政检察案件1516件，公益诉讼检察案件542件，合计22026件。
在商业秘密方面，2021至2024年，全国检察机关受理审查起诉侵犯商业秘密犯罪1262人，2025年1月至11月受理232人，数量呈上升趋势。为加强技术保护，2025年1月，最高检建立技术调查官制度，首批聘任60名技术调查官，涵盖机械、化学、生物、医学、电子通信等诸多领域，在涉及发明专利、商业秘密、植物新品种、计算机软件等疑难复杂案件中提供专业审查意见。
在商标方面，2025年1至11月，全国检察机关受理审查起诉侵犯商标权类犯罪8470件19050人，起诉14488人。山东、上海分别办理了首起家电、童装走秀领域的侵犯服务商标案，落实《刑法修正案（十一）》将服务商标纳入刑事保护范围的规定，回应市场主体对于服务商标日益增长的保护需求。
在版权方面，2025年1月至11月，全国检察机关共办理各类著作权案件1434件，起诉侵犯著作权犯罪915件1795人。检察机关加强对知名IP、历史文物、老字号品牌、非物质文化遗产的保护，加大文化创意产品保护力度。2025年1至11月，检察机关共起诉涉及文创产品侵犯知识产权犯罪案件64件，其中包括涉及“哪吒”案件20件、涉及“泡泡玛特”案件13件。
资料来源：最高人民检察院 2026-02-24
新闻链接：https://www.spp.gov.cn/2026zgjtzwlftzb/zscqjct2026/index.shtml
Date: 5 February 2026
The Plaintiff, BMW Company, held a series of registered trademarks including ‘寶馬’ , ‘BMW’ and ‘’ in Class 12 in respect of goods such as motor vehicles, and a series of registered trademarks including ‘宝马’ , ‘BMW’ and ‘
’ in Class 28 in respect of goods such as toy cars. The Defendant, Hebei Beiqi Children's Toys Co., Ltd., used marks including the ‘
’and ‘BDQ-Z4’ on children’s toy cars it manufactured and sold, and made false representations including ‘officially licensed by BMW’ and ‘officially licensed by Mercedes-Benz’ on promotional images within its factory premises. In addition, the exterior design of one model of children’s toy car manufactured and sold by the Defendant was identical to that of the Plaintiff’s Z4 convertible coupe.
The Court held that the above acts constituted trademark infringement and unfair competition. The Plaintiff had previously issued a letter before claim to the Defendant in respect of the infringing acts, but the Defendant denied infringement in its response letter and continued to manufacture and sell the infringing goods. Such conduct constituted malicious infringement of the exclusive right to use registered trademarks in serious circumstances, rendering punitive damages applicable. In respect of determining the base amount for punitive damages, based on the Defendant’s failure to produce its complete sales data, the Court calculated the total sales revenue of the infringing goods by reference to the unit sales price, cumulative sales volume and number of user reviews of the infringing goods on relevant e-commerce platforms, based on evidence adduced by the Plaintiff. Using the licensing terms and royalty calculation method set out in the license agreement between the Plaintiff and an unrelated third party, and taking account of the nature of the Defendant’s trademark infringement acts, the Court calculated the base amount for punitive damages as 7% of the total sales revenue of the infringing goods across all platforms. Having regard to the Defendant’s intentional infringement and the severity of the infringing circumstances, the Court set the multiplier for punitive damages at 2 times. The Court ordered the Defendant to pay total compensation for economic loss and reasonable expenses amounting to RMB 10.8 million (approx. US$1.57 million).
Source: Shanghai Intellectual Property Court
原告宝马公司在第12类机动车辆等商品上注册了“寶馬”“BMW”“ ”等系列商标，在第28类玩具汽车等商品上注册了“宝马”“BMW”“
”等系列商标，被告河北贝某奇儿童玩具有限公司在生产、销售的儿童玩具车上，使用了 “
”“BDQ-Z4”等标识，在厂房内宣传图片上介绍“宝马”“梅赛德斯奔驰官方授权”等。此外，被告生产、销售的一款儿童玩具车的车型和宝马公司Z4敞篷轿跑车基本相同。
法院认定上述行为构成商标侵权及不正当竞争，原告宝马公司曾向被告发送侵权律师函，但被告回函否认侵权并持续生产销售，属于恶意侵犯侵犯商标专用权且情节严重，应适用惩罚性赔偿。关于惩罚性赔偿基数的确定，鉴于被告未能提供其销售数据，法院依据原告宝马公司提供的证据，以被诉侵权商品在电商平台的销售单价、累计销量/评价数计算侵权商品销售额，并根据宝马公司与案外人间许可协议约定的许可使用条件、收费方式以及贝某奇公司商标侵权行为的表现，以被诉侵权商品在各平台的销售数额×7%计算惩罚性赔偿的基数。综合考虑侵权故意、侵权情节确定惩罚性赔偿倍数为2倍，最终判令被告赔偿经济损失及合理开支共计1080万元。
资料来源：上海知识产权法院