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6 January 2017Copyright

Chinese IP courts accept 30,000 cases, new court idea explored

China’s intellectual property courts have accepted 30,309 cases in the two years since their establishment, according to China-based IPRAction.

IPRAction, a group responsible for the national campaign against intellectual property infringement, sourced the information from Chinese news website Legal Daily.

The IP courts are based in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with the Beijing court formally opened in November 2014. This was followed by courts being established in Guangzhou and Shanghai in December 2014 and January 2015 respectively.

China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) also reported that the country is exploring the possibility of a new appeals court to handle patent disputes.

According to SIPO, Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, revealed the idea at a recent IP seminar, adding that the court also plans to form a leadership group to advance judicial reforms in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, with the Beijing IP Court playing a crucial role.

“The move aims to promote coordinated innovation and economic transformation across the region,” Tao said.

Ningling Wang, managing partner of law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner’s Shanghai office, welcomed the news.

“We were very excited to hear this announcement. The introduction of an IP appeals court will provide consistent judicial decisions,” said Wang.

She explained that when the Chinese government first considered the idea of the IP specialised courts, many practitioners and scholars proposed an appellant level court rather than trial level.

George Chan, partner and head of the Beijing IP agency at law firm Simmons & Simmons, told WIPR: "If the creation of a specialised IP appeals court dedicated to the handling of patent disputes were to be given the same gravitas as the creation of China’s recently established IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, this would be a very positive development."

He added that the general impression of the recently created IP courts is that they are staffed with some of the best IP judges in the country, and this has led to greater predictability and confidence in the handling of IP disputes.

"If the courts were to commit the same resources to and attention to detail in the creation of the IP appeals court, this would be welcomed by patent owners," Chan said.

Ningling Wang is a WIPR Leader for 2016. Her profile is available  here.

George Chan is a WIPR Leader for 2016. His profile is available  here.

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