Litigants offered stronger protection of IP rights

Chinese courts have been required to strengthen the intellectual property protection of litigants, regardless of their origin, by accurately applying international rules and conventions to better serve the nation's high-level opening-up.

The requirement was made by the Supreme People's Court, the country's top court, early this month after the central leadership held a group session on advancing construction of the legal system related to foreign affairs.

Zhang Jun, president of the top court, lauded judicial efforts made by courts nationwide in serving opening-up and safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests over the past few years, but said more work remains to be done.

He called for courts across the country to continue improving judicial credibility by upholding equal protection to litigants from China and overseas, with higher attention paid to efficiently handling foreign-related disputes regarding intellectual property, or IP, and the environment.

Regarding IP as a major part of foreign-related case handling, he ordered Chinese courts to focus more on information construction regarding IP case hearings, and attach greater importance to guiding Chinese entities going global to abide by foreign laws.

In the group study session last month, the central leadership stressed that the rule of law goes hand in hand with opening-up. It emphasized that greater strides in opening-up must be coupled with the construction of legal systems related to foreign affairs.

It also stressed that the rule of law is the best business environment, adding that it is necessary to strengthen IP protection and guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-invested businesses.

Zhang said Chinese courts should further improve the quality of dealing with foreign-related cases to meet the demands of the central leadership, and ensure that Chinese modernization is better protected through trials.

Data released by the top court in April show that Chinese courts last year concluded about 9,000 IP lawsuits involving foreign parties, with strong and equal protection given to domestic and foreign enterprises.

An annual IP report issued by the top court in March stated that fair justice and convenient legal services have resulted in more overseas litigants deciding to resolve their international IP disputes in China.

To serve opening-up and help China take part in the reform of global governance, the top court has also increased international exchanges.

These exchanges include compiling a guideline on patent case management with the World Intellectual Property Organization, and encouraging judges to attend international IP-related forums and seminars, the report said.

To efficiently resolve a rising number of IP disputes and increase studies of major issues in this regard, four courts have been set up in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong and Hainan provinces to specialize in handling cases. A number of IP tribunals have also been established.

Statistics from the Beijing Intellectual Property Court show that it heard more than 20,000 foreign-related cases from 2014, when it was established, to November last year. The litigants involved in these cases came from more than 100 countries and regions.

Liu Bin, a Beijing lawyer who specializes in IP cases, welcomed the increasingly stronger determination and efforts made by Chinese courts to protect IP rights, adding that this is conducive to fostering a market-oriented, law-based and world-class international business environment.