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

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China's first national-level Intellectual Property (IP) Court held its first public hearing in Beijing on Wednesday.

The court, that comes directly under the Supreme People's Court (SPC), was established on January 1.

This marks a major breakthrough in China's protection of intellectual property rights.

China's national-level Intellectual Property Court (IP Court) hears its first case in Beijing, China, March 27, 2019. /CGTN Photo

The case was about a French company suing a Chinese one, for infringement of a motor vehicle windscreen wiper IP design.

Shanghai's IP Court first ruled in favor of the plaintiff in January. The defendant then appealed to the new national-level court, where judges rejected the appeal and announced their verdict in favor of the plaintiff as well.

Luo Dongchuan, vice president of the Supreme People's Court and chief justice of the Intellectual Property Court (IP Court), at the hearing of its first case in Beijing, China, March 27, 2019. /CGTN Photo

The establishment of the IP Court aims to demonstrate innovation in the trial system and China's determination to protect IP rights.

Zhu Li, the reporting judge for the case, said it is a milestone in China's IP rights protection.

The IP Court aims to unify the adjudication rules and streamline legal procedures.

Zhu said that by declaring the verdict immediately and ending the case after only two trials fully embodies the idea of "protecting innovation in an innovative way."

The defendant and his legal counsel at the court when China's Intellectual Property Court (IP Court) hears its first case in Beijing, China, March 27, 2019. /CGTN Photo

Ma Yide, deputy director of China Intellectual Property Law Association said: "Today's trial was highly professional and declared the judgment immediately. It is a declaration to the world that China determines to protect IP rights in a new round of opening up."

Public gallery is seen packed with observers when China's Intellectual Property Court (IP Court) hears its first case in Beijing, China, March 27, 2019 . /CGTN Photo

Guan Yuying, director of Intellectual Property Center of China Academy of Social Sciences, said, that "the aim of the national-level IP Court is to unify the adjudication rules. The result is the final say and that saves a lot of time for the litigants."

In 2018, more than 432,000 invention patents were granted in China, up 5.8 percent year on year.

Some 148,000 patent applications from foreign entities were submitted in the same year, up 9.1 percent from 2017, according to the National Intellectual Property Administration in China.

By protecting IP rights with greater efforts, experts believe that the nation is on its way to achieve innovation-driven development.