Quantitative Analysis of the ROC Court Decisions on Trade Secret Infringements and Violation of Non-Compete Clauses

Through the database of the ROC Judicial Yuan, we reviewed all the cases in
the ROC district courts in connection with infringements on trade secrets and
breach of non-compete clauses from August 1, 1999 to June 30, 2006 and conducted
quantitative analysis of the courts’ opinions in this regard.
The results of our quantitative analysis show that: 1. most of the decisions related
to trade secret infringements and breach of non-compete clauses are in favor
of defendants; 2. it is easier to claim violation of the non-compete clauses than infringements
on trade secrets; 3. the trial period is too long to protect the plaintiffs
given that the time is of essence; 4. it is quite probable that plaintiffs will lose the
lawsuits if no penalty clause for breach of non-compete obligations is provided in
advance; and 5. the five rules to non-compete clauses are not strictly followed by district courts. Through the above findings, we look forward to finding better solutions
to protect the trade secrets.