IPR Protection: China's national-level IP Court hears its first case

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02:55

China's first national-level Intellectual Property (IP) Court, directly under the Supreme People's Court (SPC) has opened its first public hearing on Wednesday. The move aims to demonstrate the innovation of the trial system and the country's determination to protect Intellectual Property Rights. CGTN's Hou Na was there at the hearing and talked to legal professionals.

A breakthrough in China's Intellectual Property Rights Protection. China's first national-level Intellectual Property (IP) Court holds its first public hearing after its establishment in January 1st this year.

The case is about a French company suing a Chinese company on infringement of a motor vehicle windscreen wiper IP design. Shanghai IP court first ruled in favor of the plaintiff in January. The defendant then appealed to the national-level Intellectual Property (IP) Court, the judges rejected the appeal and announced the verdict in court in favor of the plaintiff. And that's the final say.

ZHU LI , PRESIDING JUDGE IP COURT OF THE SUPREME PEOPLE'S COURT "It is a milestone of China's IP judicial protection. The IP Court under the Supreme People's Court aims to unify the adjudication rules and streamline the legal procedure."

Zhu Li is the Presiding Judge of the First Panel of IP Court, and the reporting judge of the case. He said by declaring the verdict immediately at court and end the case with only two trials fully embodies the idea of "protecting innovation in an innovative way".

HOU NA BEIJING "Due to the complexity of IPR cases and expertise needed for their trials, the IP court has prevented the inconsistency of legal application and improve the quality and efficiency of trials."

MA YIDE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR CHINA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW ASSOCIATION "Today's trial was highly professional and declared the judgment immediately. It is a declaration to the world that China's determines to protect IP rights in a new round of opening up."

GUAN YUYING, DIRECTOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CENTER, CASS "The aim of the national-level IP Court is to unify the adjudication rules. The result is the final say and that saved a lot of time of the litigants."

In 2018, there were more than 432,000 invention patents granted in China, a 5.8 percent year-on-year increase. And more than 148,000 patent applications from foreign entities were submitted, up 9.1 percent from 2017, according to the National Intellectual Property Administration in China.

By protecting more IP rights, the country is on its way to achieving innovation-driven development in the country. HOU NA, CGTN, BEIJING.