The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) recently issued the Circular on Organizing Applications for Inclusion in the Third Batch of Pilot Regions of the National Pilot Innovation Program for Trade Secret Protection (hereinafter referred to as the "Circular").
The Circular specifies that the candidates for the third batch of pilot regions shall be cities specifically designated in the state plan, sub-provincial cities, prefecture-level cities, and districts (counties) directly under the jurisdiction of municipalities, with applications to be submitted by the local governments. According to the Circular, the relevant procedures include application, selection and recommendation, and evaluation and validation. Local governments may voluntarily apply to become pilot regions based on the status of trade secret protection and development needs in their respective regions, and should carefully prepare application materials and submit them to the provincial-level market regulatory authorities. The SAMR will organizes experts to evaluate and validate the applications and select 5-10 regions that demonstrate a high level of support from local governments, clear thinking, well-defined directions for innovation, prominent strengthens in key industries, and good working foundations as the third batch of pilot regions.