IP Court vows to safeguard seed industry

The Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court has pledged to strengthen judicial protection in China's seed industry to help advance the country's goal of becoming a leading agricultural power.

The announcement was made by the IP Court on Monday, ahead of World Food Day, which is observed annually on Oct 16.

As part of its efforts to revitalize the seed sector, the court said it has improved the handling of cases involving infringements of new plant variety rights, noting that stronger intellectual property protection helps foster a sound legal environment for the industry.

The court has also standardized trial procedures, increased the amount of punitive damages for violators and released a number of influential rulings. He Zhonglin, deputy chief judge of the IP Court, said these efforts aim to "make a greater judicial contribution to achieving technological self-reliance in the seed field and build a strong agricultural power".

In one example, the court in April ruled that a company had violated another company's intellectual property rights by producing and selling seven hybrid corn varieties. The infringing party was ordered to pay more than 50 million yuan ($7 million) in punitive damages — the highest compensation ever awarded in China for a plant variety infringement case, according to the court.

"In lawsuits where we have applied punitive damages, those involving new plant variety rights have been the most common, accounting for more than 30 percent of the total," said Luo Xia, the presiding judge in the corn case.

The court said it has also made extensive use of evidence preservation, genetic testing, technical investigations and expert consultations to address the complex scientific issues involved in seed-related disputes, helping to improve the quality and efficiency of trials.

Zhu Li, another deputy chief judge at the court, said a guidebook is being drafted to provide clearer procedures for handling disputes over infringements of new plant variety rights.

"Once adopted, it will help clarify technical issues and ensure that such cases are adjudicated more efficiently," he said.

China established the national-level IP Court in Beijing on Jan 1,2019, in an effort to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights.

The court, a division of the Supreme People's Court, hears appeals in patent and other technically complex cases nationwide.

The establishment of the IP Court allows litigants dissatisfied with rulings by intermediate courts or specialized IP tribunals to appeal directly to the top court, bypassing provincial-level courts.