RESUMO
OBJECTIVE： To provide reference for the thought and operation of the law to protect the tacit technology secrets of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. METHODS： Through the analysis of the composition， categories and legal attributes of tacit technology secrets of TCM， legal protection methods were sought from the legal perspective. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS： In the field of TCM， tacit knowledge， represented by the TCM processing， TCM diagnosis and treatment， is mostly inherited and studied in the form of technology secrets. The tacit technology secrets of TCM have the characteristics of personality dependence and inheritance， the protection of them by law can not be achieved directly through the field of intellectual property rights， but through the protection of the interests of the inheritors. Public law and private law are indispensable to the protection of tacit technology secrets of TCM. Public law should focus on improving the mechanism of technological inheritance and protecting the rights and interests of TCM inheritors. Private law should overcome the risk of infringement by signing contracts and transforming tacit knowledge of TCM.