Revision clarifies procedure for handling IPR crimes

Intellectual property rights experts have lauded a recent regulatory revision that clarifies the procedure to be used by government departments when passing evidence of suspected IPR crimes to police.

The revised regulation, published by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Friday, specifically stipulates that if a government department suspects, after collecting evidence, that a case constitutes an IPR-related crime, it should be transferred to the public security authorities.

This change came into effect on Friday.

"The clearer procedures on dealing with IPR-related cases is to help better connect the administrative protection of IPR with the judicial protection," said Ma Yide, an IPR professor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan, Hubei province.

"The clarified process shows our country's determination to oppose IPR infringements, and the efficient case handling will contribute to boosting high-quality economic and social development."

The move is also an implementation of the central leadership's demands for full protection of IPR, the intensification of law enforcement in the sector and the promotion of innovation and the commercialization and application of IPR, Ma said.

Liu Bin, a lawyer from Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm who specializes in IPR cases, said the new content in the revised regulation will be an effective way to fight IPR-related offenses.

He said referring cases of suspected IPR crimes to the public security departments for criminal investigation was needed because it represented the strongest possible protection for IPR.

"The amended regulation, I think, also tells administrative law enforcement agencies to work closely with public security authorities when finding suspected cases to further ensure IPR-related crimes can be cracked down on through joint efforts," Liu added.

The China National Intellectual Property Administration said in April that it had called on administrators at all levels to inspect suspected IPR infringements more thoroughly. It said some 31,900 trademark-related cases had been solved by administrations across the country last year, up 2.24 percent year-on-year.

It added that public security authorities nationwide cracked 16,132 IPR-related cases in 2019, with 29,852 suspects being detained.

Statistics released by the Supreme People's Court, the country's top court, in April showed that Chinese courts concluded 475,853 IPR-related cases last year, up 48.87 percent year-on-year.