China mulls building IP court for Hainan free trade port

BEIJING - China's top legislature is considering a special intellectual property (IP) court named after the Hainan free trade port.

The new IP court would be based in South China's Hainan province with jurisdiction over civil, administrative and criminal IP cases in the province, according to a draft decision submitted Tuesday to an ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

The scope of its jurisdiction is different from that of the current IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, which only hear civil and administrative cases, said Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court, while briefing lawmakers about the draft.

The new arrangement is expected to promote an effective link between different litigation procedures, resolve incoherence, and improve the overall judicial protection mechanism of intellectual property rights, Zhou added.

The new IP court is also expected to further explore judicial reforms, according to the draft decision.

On June 1, China released a master plan for the Hainan free trade port, aiming to build the province into a globally influential high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.