Generally speaking, it is only a civil tort and bears civil liability. Causing heavy losses to the obligee of trade secrets constitutes a crime of infringing trade secrets, and criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the provisions of Article 219th of the Criminal Law of People's Republic of China (PRC).
enclose herewith
Criminal law of the people's Republic of China
Article 219 Whoever commits one of the following acts of infringing on trade secrets, thus causing heavy losses to the right holder of trade secrets, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined; Whoever causes especially serious consequences shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined:
(1) Obtaining the business secrets of the obligee by theft, inducement, coercion or other improper means;
(2) disclosing, using or allowing others to use the business secrets of the obligee obtained by means of the preceding paragraph;
(3) disclosing, using or allowing others to use the business secrets in their possession in violation of the agreement or the requirements of the obligee to keep the business secrets.
Anyone who knows or should know the acts listed in the preceding paragraph and obtains, uses or discloses other people's trade secrets shall be regarded as infringing on trade secrets.
The term "business secrets" as mentioned in this article refers to technical information and business information that are not known to the public, can bring economic benefits to the obligee, are practical and are kept confidential by the obligee.
The obligee mentioned in this article refers to the owner of the business secret and the user of the business secret with the permission of the owner.