扩张与限缩:论我国商业秘密刑法保护的基本立场与实现路径

Expansion and Contraction:On the Basic Standpoint and Realization Approach of the Protection of Business Secret through Criminal Law in China

面对国内外商业秘密保护战略与制度的重大变革,我国商业秘密刑法保护制度的变革已刻不容缓。不断增长的保护需求、分散式立法模式与权益保护方式的脆弱性促成了商业秘密刑法保护的扩张倾向,而商业秘密权利边界的相对模糊性与商业秘密所具有的准公共产品性质又在一定程度上对刑法的扩张构成限制,因此,当前我国商业秘密的刑法保护应当秉持“有限度的扩张”的基本立场。在刑法扩张方面,通过法律解释适当扩大犯罪对象和“其他不正当手段”的覆盖范围,通过立法修订将违反法定保密义务的行为犯罪化;在限缩方面,对不法行为分类设置有级差的入罪门槛条件,并通过法律解释实现“违约行为犯罪化条款”与“间接侵犯商业秘密行为条款”的限缩适用。

In the face of great changes in business secret protection strategy and system at home and abroad,the reform of criminal law protection system of business secret in China is urgent.Growing demands for protection,decentralized legislation mode and the fragility of ways of rights and interests protection contribute to the trend of expanding the protection of business secret through criminal law,however,the relative vagueness of the right boundary of business secret and the nature of a quasi-public product of business secret impose a limitation on the expansion of the criminal law to a certain extent,therefore,the criminal law protection of business secret at present shall adhere to the basic position of the"limitative"expansion.For the expansion of the criminal law,the scope of objects of the crime and"other improper means"should be appropriately expanded through legal interpretation,and the act of violating the statutory duty of confidentiality should be criminalized through legislative amendment.For the contraction of criminal law,a tiered threshold for crime and illegality should be set up;Through legal interpretation,the contracted application of"articles of criminalizing the breach of contract"and"articles of indirect infringement of business secret"can be realized.