An ownership dispute over technological achievements arose between former partners, Wuxi Chipown and Keyu Company. At the end of 2023, Keyu sent a letter to warn Wuxi Chipown of infringing its trade secrets and patent rights.
After receiving the infringement warning letter, Wuxi Chipown immediately issued a lawyer’s letter to Keyu, stating that if Keyu insists that Wuxi Chipown may constitute infringement, it is suggested to further supplement relevant materials, define the scope and specifics of the relevant technical trade secret and at the same time provide a comparison table of technical features between patents and products, or file an infringement lawsuit with a competent people’s court as soon as possible after receiving this letter, to resolve the dispute between the two parties at an early date.
However, Keyu did not file a lawsuit in Mainland China.
Subsequently, Wuxi Chipown filed a non-infringement declaration action with Wuxi Intermediate People’s Court in May 2024.
After hearing the case, the court held that although Keyu filed a lawsuit in Hong Kong, it did not exercise its right of action in Mainland China, which affected the operation of Wuxi Chipown, and thus the case met the conditions for a non-infringement declaration action; Keyu failed to clarify the scope and ownership of trade secrets and to provided sufficient evidence.
Recently, Wuxi Intermediate People’s Court made a first-instance judgment, confirming that Wuxi Chipown did not infringe Keyu’s technical secrets. This case clarifies the applicable conditions and burden of proof for non-infringement declaration actions and serves as a reference for similar cases. (September 17, 2025, China Intellectual Property News)
Statistics
Annual Review of China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law Enforcement (2024) Chinese and English Versions Released
Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the Annual Review of Anti-Unfair Competition Law Enforcement (2024)” (Chinese and English versions). Statistics shows that in 2024, a total of 14,200 unfair competition cases were investigated and handled nationwide, with the fines and confiscations amounting to CNY 805 million. Among the cases, 5,165 cases involved online unfair competition. (September 9, 2025, State Administration for Market Regulation)
