IPR protection bears fruit, procurator-general says

Zhang said IPR cases often involve cutting-edge technologies and a number of different fields and require professional knowledge.

"The specialized office can coordinate the use of criminal, civil and administrative procuratorial functions to effectively offer judicial protection to IPR," he said.

"It can also promote the establishment of high-quality IPR procuratorial teams and improve their working capacity, quality and efficiency," Zhang added.

Even in cases in which rights holders have not defended their rights in a timely fashion in criminal IPR cases, Zhang said procuratorates have fully implemented the policy of notifying involved parties of litigation rights and obligations. That facilitates the parties' participation in litigation activities as well as providing for supplementary evidence to be provided in a timely manner to safeguard their interests.

The establishment of the office has fully demonstrated the procuratorial organs' determination and confidence to resolutely confront IPR infringement crimes, Zhang said.

Last year, the number of people prosecuted for IPR infringement nationwide increased by 10.5 percent year-on-year.

Zhang said the increase does not necessarily mean that more such crimes occurred last year, but mainly shows that law enforcement and judicial departments have stepped up efforts in cracking down on such crimes.

Last year, the SPP and the Supreme People's Court issued a judicial interpretation on handling criminal cases of IPR infringement. The SPP also made improvements in the filing of cases and prosecution standards for infringement cases involving commercial secrets in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Security.