China's top procuratorate launches special department to tackle IPR violations

BEIJING -- China's top procuratorate has established a special procuratorial department dedicated to handling cases involving intellectual property rights (IPR) violations, underscoring its growing commitment to cracking down on such crimes.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) held a press conference on Wednesday to announce the launch of its new IPR procuratorial department. Previously, the SPP handled such cases through a special office.

On the same day, the SPP also released a white paper detailing its IPR-related procuratorial work over the past year.

According to the white paper, prosecutors across the country accepted and reviewed cases involving the arrest of 13,486 individuals for IPR-related offenses in 2024. They also handled prosecution cases involving 33,805 individuals on related charges.

Of the prosecution cases accepted and reviewed, approximately 81 percent involved trademark infringement, the white paper stated.