《民法典》第501条(合同缔结人的保密义务)评注

Comments on Article 501 of the Civil Code (Duty of Confidentiality of the Parties)

《民法典》第501条的保护对象从"商业秘密"扩大到"其他应当保密的信息",其旨在维护合同关系中公平的竞争秩序,抑制不正当行为。违反保密义务一方承担的实质上为侵权责任,特定情形下存在与违约责任的竞合。对保密义务的违反不以当事人明示应予保密为前提,通常表现为泄露或不正当使用。在可归责性问题上,不宜限于故意,从而强化对受害人的保护。在解释论上,应先按照商业秘密权利人的实际损失计算赔偿数额,当实际损失难以计算时,应按照侵权人所获利益并考虑其贡献度确定赔偿数额,最后再依次考虑许可使用费和法定赔偿。

The protection objects of Article 501 of the Civil Code are expanded from"trade secret"to"any other confidential information",which aims to maintain a fair competition order and restrain improper behavior.The party who breaks the duty of confidentiality bears essentially tort liability,which is in competition with liability for breach of contract under certain circumstances.Breach of the duty of confidentiality does not presuppose that the party clearly indicates that the information should be kept confidential,which usually manifest themselves as disclosure or improper use.On the issue of imputability,it should not be limited to deliberateness so as to strengthen the protection of victims.According to the explanatory theory,the amount of compensation should be calculated based on the actual loss of right holder of the trade secret right.When the actual loss is difficult to calculate,the amount of compensation should be determined based on the profit of the infringer and its contribution and then the license fee and the statutory compensation successively.