Supreme People’s Court IP Tribunal just launched

Implementing a resolution on intellectual property appeal procedures adopted by the National People's Congress in October, last week, the IP Division within the Supreme People Court (SPC) was officially launched and started to operate on January 1st 2019.

The new SPC’s IP Tribunal counts 30 judges selected from IP tribunals in 10 provinces across the Country and is located up in the capital's Fengtai district. The new court is responsible for handling civil and administrative appeals related to patents, plant varieties and computer software, among other areas, but not trademarks or trade secrets.

According to the new procedural rules issued last October litigants who disagree with rulings issued by intermediate people's courts at the city or district level, or by specialized IP courts, can appeal directly to the SPC instead of first appealing to provincial high people's courts.

Mr Luo Dongchuan, chief judge of the IP Court, said that "the change to patent-related litigation procedures aims to help prevent inconsistency and improve the quality and efficiency of trials".

The establishment of the new SPC's IP Tribunal is not an isolated fact. In the recent years, IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou were already launched, signifying a relevant progress in connecting the procedures of intellectual property. Also, the cyberspace courts in Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou have already put into force, which means the system of Intellectual Property is proceeding into completion.

HFG Law&Intellectual Property