Rethinking and Solving the Model for Protecting Enterprise Data

With the rapid development of China's digital economy, data competition disputes among internet enterprises have become increasingly diverse and complex. The theory of commercial data empowerment has been proposed by academics as the value of commercial data becomes more prominent. However, this theory faces the problem of insufficient legitimacy at the theoretical level, including property right theory, copyright theory, and new property right theory. Considering the current lack of clarity regarding data ownership, Chinese judicial practice mostly relies on anti-unfair competition laws to regulate competitive behavior. Legitimacy is determined through the use of 'general terms' and 'trade secrets'. However, these methods have certain limitations. Considering recent developments in the commercial data industry and judicial practice in China, Article 18 of the Draft Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law (Draft for Public Comments) (Special Article on Commercial Data) aims to provide better protection for enterprise data.