The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is next month slated to publish a list of key technologies to protect the nation’s most important trade secrets and patents, it said yesterday.
National core key technologies refer to trade secrets that are significanct to the nation’s security, competitiveness and economic development, the council said.
The list of protected technologies would include a multitude of trade secrets in the semiconductor manufacturing, information technology, aerospace and agricultural sectors, it said.
Photo: CNA
The council said that it is leading an interministerial task force that has determined the procedure to evaluate technologies, and that the list’s content is expected to be announced before next year.
Stealing a key technology on behalf of a foreign force is punishable by a sentence of five to 12 years in prison commutable to a fine of NT$5 million to NT$100 million (US$154,550 to US$3.09 million) under the National Security Act (國家安全法), the council said.
Amendments to the law that pertain to trade secrets were passed by the legislature in May last year, but have not taken effect due to a lack of regulations on their definition and enforcement, which the council is working on, it said.
The proposed trade secrets’ classification process is designed to evaluate a patent’s importance, the council said, adding that nondisclosure agreements would be used to further enhance security.
A technology’s assessment for classification as a national secret would be carried out by an eight-member committee consisting of officials, experts and entrepreneurial representatives, it said.
The Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan are responsible for putting the list into effect, the council said, adding that the protected technology catalog would be reviewed periodically.
The security protocols on national core technology research programs receiving public funding are stipulated separately in the council’s manual published in 2011, it said.
The difference between the regulations covering the national core technology list and the council’s manual is that the former are specifically concerned with imposing penalties for breaches and include protections for products and defense technology, the council said.
Personnel involved in the research and development of sensitive technology programs commissioned by the government are subject to China travel restrictions under the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the council said.
Taiwanese who deal with key national technologies are not allowed to visit China without prior authorization, a rule that remains in effect for three years following their departure from the research program or agency, it said.
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