Beijing aims to boost IP rights protection efforts

Though progress has been made, Beijing will strengthen efforts to safeguard intellectual property rights by offering high-quality legal services to litigants from home and abroad, an official of the capital's IP court said.

"Guaranteeing litigants' legitimate IP rights in stricter accordance with laws and giving them equal protection, no matter where they are from, has always been our top priority in handling foreign-related IP cases, and we'll continue to improve the Chinese judicial image in IP protection," said Wang Jinshan, president of the Beijing IP Court.

He made the remark at a news conference on Nov 6, noting the court's aim is to help litigants enjoy efficient and better legal services if they come to the court to solve their IP problems.

As China's first intermediate-level court specializing in handling IP disputes, the court has filed 72,681 IP cases since November 2014, of which 14,945 involved foreign litigants from 90 countries and regions.

Of these foreign-related cases, 30 percent were related to litigants from the United States and 15 to nations involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, the statistics showed.

"Not only Chinese enterprises but also some transnational corporations came to us while dealing with IP disputes, which means foreign companies have attached importance to the Chinese market and more have trusted Chinese justice to protect their IP rights.

"It also represents Chinese litigants' awareness of IP protection has been enhanced," Wang said.

"The rise of foreign-related disputes shows Beijing and our country have experienced deep integration with the world's economy," he added.

Zhang Xiaojin, chief judge of the court's No 2 Division, agreed.

She said most foreign-related IP disputes focus on trademarks and patents, and dealing with such cases requires judges to do sufficient research and obtain better knowledge of international conventions or treaties as well as the international and prospective vision.

"IP disputes often happen to new industries or cover advanced technologies that sometimes have no rules to follow," she said.

"On this occasion, guaranteeing IP rights without affecting technological development is a challenge for us."

To broaden their horizons, judges from the court have taken part in international seminars and have increased communication with IP specialists from home and abroad over the past five years, she added.

"The more we understand the new technologies, the better rulings we will make," she said.

In 2014, the country also built similar intermediate-level IP courts in Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

In January, the Supreme People's Court opened the national-level IP court to improve efficiency in the hearing of IP appeal cases.