Adrian Hamczyk, an engineer from Poland, joined Tesla in 2020 as the core automation engineering manager at the Advanced Manufacturing of the US carmaker’s Gigafactory in Shanghai. The factory that he works in is located in the Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone — an energetic and dynamic hub that has witnessed Adrian’s growth alongside Tesla’s expansion.

In 2023, Hamczyk and his team encountered an incident involving the leakage of trade secrets. A technician had illegally downloaded Tesla’s confidential business information and uploaded it to multiple public cloud storage platforms, putting sensitive data at immediate risk of exposure. In response, Tesla swiftly reported the incident to the public security department while simultaneously filing a lawsuit in court.

At this crucial moment, the intellectual property division of the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court stepped in with remarkable efficiency. Not only did the court swiftly accept the case, but it also issued a preservation ruling within 48 hours in accordance with the law. Shortly after, several judges traveled immediately to Beijing to enforce the injunction, successfully freezing the suspect’s cloud storage accounts and preventing further information leakage.

Throughout the case handling, the intellectual property division of the Pudong court demonstrated both efficiency and professionalism, leaving Hamczyk deeply impressed by China’s commitment to equally protecting the legal rights of both domestic and foreign enterprises. Beyond handling cases, the court actively promotes legal education to help businesses overcome challenges in protecting their trade secrets. During a seminar at the Lin-gang Legal Services Center, Tao Ye, deputy chief judge of the division, provided in-depth insights into the importance of trade secret protection and relevant legal regulations, offering invaluable guidance to Hamczyk and other corporate representatives in attendance.

Reflecting on the experience, Hamczyk remarked, “In Chinese, there is a term called ‘timely rain’, which aptly describes the situation.” He also showed appreciation for the lecture helping both his company and other enterprises, seeing the court’s assistance as a timely rain — providing much-needed support in safeguarding enterprises’ trade secrets.

Today, Tesla’s expansion in the Lin-gang Special Area continues at full speed. The company is currently constructing a Megafactory here — the first of its kind outside the United States.

“With the judicial system providing strong support, we are filled with confidence for the future. We will continue to move forward together with this city and achieve mutual success,” Hamczyk stated.