商业秘密刑事条款与新《反不正当竞争法》的衔接

The Connection between the Criminal Provisions of Trade Secrets and the New Anti-unfair Competition Law

近年来,《反不正当竞争法》中的商业秘密条款被频繁修订,《刑法》中有关侵犯商业秘密罪的刑事条款和司法解释却没有随之更新。侵犯商业秘密罪应如何适用,两法如何衔接,成为当下的严峻问题。新《反不正当竞争法》改变了商业秘密的定义,增补了行为方式,《刑法》尚能应对,但侵犯商业秘密罪“重大损失”的标准过低,必须通过特别规定来解决。形式上有多种可能性,内容上要把握慎刑和谦抑原则,在划清民事侵权和刑事犯罪边界时要正确把握刑法的独立品格。具体说来,由于商业秘密涉及国家安全,要对有涉外因素的行为加重刑罚;对不同行为方式所体现的社会危害性进行质和量的区分,并与侵犯财产罪严格区分。另外,侵犯商业秘密的入罪标准“重大损失”过于单一、认定困难,建议增加“其他严重情节”。

With the revision of the Anti-unfair Competition Law,the criminal provisions and judicial interpretations of the crime of infringement of trade secrets in the Criminal Law have not been updated in recent years.How should the crime of infringement of trade secrets be applied,and how these two laws are connected have become the present serious problems.The new Anti-unfair Competition Law has changed the definition of trade secrets and supplemented the types of infringement,which Criminal Law can also cope with.However,the unbalanced standard of“significant loss”for the crime of infringement of trade secrets must be resolved by special regulations in different possible ways.As to the content,we must stick to the principle of prudence and modesty,and correctly understand the independent character of Criminal Law when we draw the boundaries of civil torts and criminal offences.Specifically,since trade secrets involve national security,it is necessary to aggravate penalties for acts involving foreign factors,to distinguish the quality and quantity of social harm embodied by different acts,and to strictly distinguish from property crimes.In addition,the singular standard of“significant loss”for the crime of infringement of trade secrets is so difficult to identify,which is suggested to add“other serious circumstances”.