Section 7. Any of the following acts against trade secrets shall not be considered an infringement:
(1) Disclosure or use of trade secrets by a person who has obtained the trade secrets through a transaction
without knowing or having reasonable cause to know that the other party to the transaction obtained the trade secrets
through the infringement thereof.
(2) Disclosure or use of trade secrets by state agency which is responsible for their maintenance in the
following circumstances:
(a) When it is necessary for the protection of public health or safety; or,
(b) When it is necessary for the benefit of other public interests with no commercial purpose. In such case,
the state agency which is responsible for the maintenance of trade secrets, or other state agency or person concerned
who has access to the trade secrets has taken reasonable steps for the protection of the trade secrets from being used
in unfair trading activities.
(3) Independent discovery i.e. discovery of a trade secret belonging to others by the researcher’s own method
of invention or development through his own expertise; or,
(4) Reverse engineering i.e. discovery of a trade secret belonging to others by means of evaluation and analysis
of a widely-known product with the intention to discover the method by which such product is invented, manufactured or
developed, provided that the product was obtained in good faith by the person who conducted the evaluation and
analysis.
The act under (4) cannot be raised as a justification if the person who conducted reverse engineering
expressly agreed otherwise with the owner of trade secrets or seller of the product.
Section 8. Where there is clear evidence that an infringement of trade secrets has been committed or is
imminent, the affected or imminently to be affected controller of trade secrets has the following remedies:
(1) Petition the court for an interim injunction, temporarily to stop the infringement of trade secrets, and;
(2) File an action in the court for a permanent injunction, permanently to stop the infringement of trade
secrets and claim damages from the wrongdoer.
The petition under (1) may be filed prior to the action under (2).
Section 9. Before taking any action under section 8, the controller of trade secrets who is affected or
imminently to be affected by the infringement of trade secrets and the other party may agree to submit the dispute
concerning trade secrets to the Board for conciliation or mediation. However, such submission shall not prejudice the
right of either party to resolve the dispute through arbitration or litigation in the competent court should the
conciliation or mediation fail to settle the dispute.
The filing of request and procedure for conciliation or mediation of the Board under paragraph one shall be
governed by the rules and methods prescribed in the Ministerial Regulation.
Section 10. No cases of trade secrets infringement shall be brought after three years from the date where the
controller of trade secrets knows of the infringement and of the infringer, however, the period shall not exceed ten
years from the date of infringement.
Chapter II
Procedure for Trade Secrets Infringement
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Section 11. Where the controller of trade secrets files an action for injunction under section 8(2), and the
court finds infringement of trade secrets but there are special circumstances where injunction should not be granted,
the court may order the infringer to pay appropriate compensation to the controller of trade secrets and set appropriate
time period for the use.
In case where the court grants an injunction under section 8(2) stopping further infringement of the trade
secrets, and if at a later stage, the trade secrets have been disclosed to the public or have ceased to be trade secrets,
the person enjoined by the court can file a petition to have the order rescinded.
In an action for injunction under section 8(2), the controller of trade secret may request the court to order the
destruction or confiscation of materials, apparatus, tools or other equipments used in the infringement of trade
secrets.
The products that are manufactured by the infringement of trade secrets and are still vested in the ownership
of the infringer shall be vested with the State or with the controller of trade secrets as so ordered by the court. In case
where the possession of such product is illegal, the court may order its destruction.
Section 12. In a civil suit filed by the controller of trade secrets for an infringement of manufacturing process
that is a trade secret, unless the contrary can be proved by the defendant, it shall be presumed that the defendant
infringes the alleged trade secrets in manufacturing the product, if the controller can prove that the product
manufactured by the defendant is the same as the product produced by using the controller’s trade secrets.
Section 13. In determining the measure of damages where an action under section 8 (2) has been filed, the
court is empowered to apply the following rules:
(1) In addition to the damages for the actual damage suffered, the court may include in the damages for the
plaintiff, account of profits accrued from or in connection with the infringement by the infringer.
(2) In case where the court is unable to measure the damages under (1), it may order such amount of
damages to the controller of trade secrets, as it deems appropriate.
(3) In case where there is clear evidence that the infringement of trade secrets is conducted willfully or
maliciously causing the trade secrets to cease the quality of secrecy, the court is empowered to order the infringer to pay punitive damages in addition to the amount of damages granted under (1) and (2). However, the punitive
damages shall not exceed two times the amount of damages under (1) or (2).
Section 14. In addition to the provisions of this Act, the enforcement of rights through court for protection of
trade secrets and the procedure for trade secret litigation shall be governed by the legislation establishing the
intellectual property and international trade court and its procedure.
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