American Catalytic Distillation Technologies Co., Ltd. (“the Client”) holds multiple trade secrets (“the Involved Technology”) in the field of pulse flow reaction technology. Luoyang Zhida Petrochemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (“Zhida”) illegally disclosed the Involved Technology to Dongying Yatong Petrochemical Co., Ltd. in the course of production cooperation with it. In response, the Client initiated a trade secret lawsuit and entrusted lawyers of Beijing YiJu Law Firm (“YiJu”) to provide legal services.

Business Difficulties and Highlights

In this case, due to the trade secrets’ characteristics of secrecy, value and confidentiality, it was difficult to determine whether the Involved Technology constituted a legally protected trade secret. Additionally, the Client had limited access to Zhida’s production process, which presented great challenges for obtaining evidence of infringement.

For this problem, YiJu’s lawyers first identified the secret points of the Involved Technology through a large amount of data and materials, which demonstrated its technical secrecy as a trade secret. Then they utilized the systems of evidence preservation and expert witnesses to obtain evidence of Zhida’s production process. By comparing it with the Client’s production process, a solid foundation was laid for the Client’s successful defence.

Ultimately, with thorough demonstration of YiJu’s lawyers, the court determined that Zhida had infringed on the Client’s trade secret and applied punitive damages in the amount of CNY 6.9 million. This case is a typical representative of trade secret litigation in the chemical industry which provided new ideas for similar cases in the future.