More foreign cases landing in IP Court

Adhering to the principle of equal protection for litigants at home and abroad, China is positioning itself as a preferred destination for resolving international intellectual property disputes, with more foreign entities choosing Chinese courts for such matters, officials from the country's top court said.

He Zhonglin, deputy chief judge at the Supreme People's Court's Intellectual Property Court, revealed at a news conference on Wednesday that since the establishment of the IP Court in early 2019, it has handled 2,546 foreign-related cases, with an average annual growth rate of 18.7 percent.

He said that nearly 30 percent of these cases involved the authorization and confirmation of invention patents, highlighting the significant increase in cases related to both domestic and international civil infringement lawsuits.

"When we handled these cases, we've consistently upheld the equal protection of IP rights holders, regardless of where they are from," he added. "Thanks to this principle and other services, more foreign entities are choosing Chinese courts to settle IP disputes, further enhancing the credibility and international influence of China's judiciary."

Zhang Xinfeng, a senior judge at the IP Court, said that he and his colleagues remain committed to providing fair, just, convenient, efficient, and humanized legal services to both domestic and foreign litigants, "aiming to promote cooperation, expand openness, stabilize expectations, and build confidence through case handling and helping the nation become a preferred destination for resolving international IP disputes".

He emphasized that, while fully respecting the litigants' wishes, the court adopts a global perspective, making every effort to thoroughly and substantively resolve conflicts, foster mutually beneficial cooperation, and pursue fundamental solutions for all parties involved.

"This approach and philosophy have earned the trust and respect of international innovators, leading to an increasing number of foreign-related cases being resolved through mediation," he added.

The national-level IP Court was set up in January 2019 and tasked with tackling appeals of civil and administrative cases related to invention patents, new varieties of plants, integrated circuits, technical secrets, computer software and monopolies.

Since its establishment, litigants who disagree with rulings made in intermediate courts at the city or prefecture level, or those made by specialized IP courts, have been allowed to appeal directly to the national-level IP Court instead of first appealing to provincial high courts.

The streamlined appeal process aims to prevent inconsistencies and improve the efficiency and quality of difficult technical and patent hearings.

Over the past seven years, the IP Court has also played a big role in strengthening IP protection and stimulating innovation, applying punitive damages in 58 cases, with the total compensation amounting to 2.05 billion yuan ($295 million), according to He.

In addition, 66 cases were confirmed as involving monopolistic practices, spanning various sectors of technology and public welfare, such as pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, e-commerce, education, construction, and funeral services, he added.