Newsletter
Mainland China Decides To Set Up Intellectual Property Courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
During the 16th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress held on August 31, 2014, Mainland China officials approved the establishment of Intellectual Property Courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The decision is to be announced before taking effect. It is expected that the respective Intellectual Property Courts will be formally set up by the end of 2014. The Supreme People's Court will be responsible for drafting related rules for the courts' adjudication tribunals. It is understood that at this juncture the Intellectual Property Courts will only handle civil and administrative cases.
China adopts the following judicial structure: there are four court levels, namely Basic, Intermediate, Higher, and Supreme People's Courts. All cases are heard at the first instance in a particular court of the relevant level with access to appeal to the higher court. The higher court's decision is final, with no appeal allowed after that. The adjudication level of the Intellectual Property Court will be equivalent to that of an Intermediate People's Court. It acts as the court of first instance (or trial court) for cases involving considerable technical expertise such as 'patent', 'new plant varieties', 'integrated circuit board layout design' and 'technical (trade) secrets', etc. A litigant can appeal from the Intellectual Property Court (as the court of first instance) in such cases to the Higher People's Court, which has jurisdiction over the former. The Basic People's Courts in the cities in which the Intellectual Property Courts are located will deal with civil cases involving intellectual property rights such as copyright and trademarks as well as administrative decisions. All appeals from such courts will be dealt with by the respective Intellectual Property Courts as the court of second instance (and final appeal).
As a court of first instance, an Intellectual Property Court can have trans-regional jurisdiction, the scope of which will be determined by the Supreme People's Court. During the first three years of its establishment, the Intellectual Property Court may have trans-regional jurisdiction only in the province (municipality) in which it is located. Parties who object to the adjudication or decision of a State Council department and who wish to institute an intellectual property rights-related case in the first instance with respect to the allowability or validity of intellectual property rights will be exclusively adjudicated by the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. For example, patent reexamination rejections and invalidation actions as decided by the Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office would be dealt with by the Beijing Intellectual Property Court after it is established, in place of the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court.
All adjudication work of the Intellectual Property Court will be supervised by the Supreme People's Court and Higher People's Court having jurisdiction over its location. Under the law, the Intellectual Property Court will also be subject to the supervision of the Supreme People's Procuratorate; it is also responsible to and should submit reports to the Standing Committee of the People's Congress in the city in which it is located. The president of the Intellectual Property Court is appointed and dismissed by way of a resolution of the Director's Meeting of the Standing Committee of the local People's Congress subject to the approval of such Standing Committee. The appointment and dismissal of the deputy president, presiding judge, judges and judiciary committee members of the Intellectual Property Court shall be proposed by the president of the Intellectual Property Court for approval by the Standing Committee of the local People's Congress.