商业秘密“秘密性”证明中推定规则的适用——兼议《反不正当竞争法》第三十二条

The Application of Presumption Rules to Proving the“Secrecy”of Trade Secrets:Concurrently Discussing Article 32 of Anti-Unfair Competition Law

“秘密性”证明是商业秘密侵权诉讼的关键环节,“秘密性”证明难也是造成权利人维权难的关键因素。新修订的《反不正当竞争法》第三十二条规定了“秘密性”证明的内容。从证明责任理论出发,该条款的修订并没有改变“秘密性”证明责任的分配,而是属于推定规则的适用。推定规则本质上是一种证据规则,包括基础事实、推定依据、推定事实与反驳四个要素,通过基础事实间接证明推定事实,降低了当事人的证明难度。推定规则建立的正当性体现在推定依据的正当性,推定依据或为经验法则或为公共政策需要。第三十二条“初步证据”包括“采取保密措施”“合理表明被侵犯”,这类证据降低了权利人的证明难度和证明成本,通过“初步证据”推定“秘密性”,不仅具有高度盖然性,符合经验法则,还体现加强知识产权保护的公共政策,符合推定规则的逻辑推理结构。涉嫌侵权人拥有对“初步证据”和“秘密性”反驳的权利,确保推定结论的可靠性。

The proof of“secrecy”is a key issue in trade secret infringement litigation,and the difficulty of proving“secrecy”is also a key factor that makes it hard for right holders to defend their rights.Article 32 of the newly revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law provides rules for proving“secrecy”.From the perspective of the burden of proof theory,the revision of this provision does not change the distribution of the burden of proof regarding“secrecy”.Instead,it is based on the presumption rules,which are essentially a kind of evidence rules,including four elements,namely,basic facts,presumption basis,presumption facts,and rebuttal.The presumed facts are indirectly proved through basic facts,which reduces the burden of proof borne by the plaintiff.The legitimacy of the enactment of presumption rules is reflected in the legitimacy of the presumption basis,which is either a rule of thumb or a public policy requirement.“Preliminary evidence”under Article 32 includes“taking confidentiality measures”and“reasonably showing that it has been violated”.These types of evidence reduce the difficulty and cost of proof for the right holder.The presumption of“secrecy”through“preliminary evidence”not only meets the high probability,conforms to the rule of thumb,but also reflects the public policy of strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights,and conforms to the logical reasoning structure of the presumption rules.The suspected infringer has the right to rebut the“preliminary evidence”and“secrecy”,which ensures the reliability of the presumption.