Dec. 31, 2019: Amendments to certain provisions of the Trade Secret Law were passed by the Third Reading of the Legislative Court today. Prosecutors may issue "Investigation Confidentiality Protective Orders", which will help the investigation of trade secret cases and the protection of secret matters.

There is no “Investigation Confidentiality Protective Orders” in the current Trade Secret Law. When prosecutors investigate a trade secret case, they cannot fulfill the confidentiality obligation to those who have access to the information, causing the owner of the trade secret to worry that it may be disclosed later. It also affects the efficiency and correctness of the investigation. To take both the discovery of the truth and the confidentiality of the trade evidence, the Legislative Yuan passed the amendments to some provisions of the Trade Law on the third reading today (31), and added the "Investigation Confidentiality Protective Orders," with the following points:

1. When the prosecutor deems it necessary to investigate a trade secret case, he may issue an "Investigation Confidentiality Protective Orders" to those who have contacted the investigating information, such as informants, defenders, and other lawsuit-related persons.

2. A person subject to the Order shall not use the investigation contents he contacted for any purpose other than the investigation procedure and shall not disclose it to others.

3. Anyone who violates the Order shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than three years, detention, or a fine of NT $ 1 million. Violations of Investigation Confidentiality Protective Orders abroad are also punishable.

An Investigation Confidentiality Protective Order may be changed or revoked during the investigation proceeding. When the case is prosecuted, it may be linked to a Confidentiality Preservation Order issued by the court.

After the amendment is passed, it will help improve the efficiency in investigating trade secret cases, strengthen the maintenance of internal confidentiality of enterprises, and improve trade secrets in Taiwan.