The Number of IP Cases in Beijing Has
Hit a Record High
Yang Boyong, Chief
Judge of Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.3 (IPR Division),
Beijing Higher People's
Court
Apart
from criminal cases, Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court accepted a total
of 59,094 IP cases in 2018, with 43% year-on-year growth. According to Yang
Boyong,Chief Judge of Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.3 (IPR Division) of Beijing
Higher People's Court on the 9th China IP International Annual Forum. 41,580 of
them were civil cases and 17,514 were administrative cases, respectively
accounted for 70.4% and 29.6%. A total of 55,935 IP-related cases were adjudicated,
with growth of 49% year on year. Among which were 40,708 civil cases and 15,227
administrative cases.
The
9th China IP International Annual Forum 2019 Annual Conference of In-House IP
Managers in China hosted by China IP Magazine was held in Beijing on January
12. At the Forum of China IP Management Trend held in the morning of the 12th,
Yang Boyong, Chief Judge of Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.3 (IPR Division) of Beijing
Higher People's Court, introduced the main features of IP-related trials of
courts in Beijing in 2018 and the relevant information about accepted and
settled cases. He pointed out that in 2018, the number of IP-related cases
accepted and settled by courts in Beijing hit a new high, and the IP-related
trials are also facing new challenges.
Yang
Boyong also shared that in 2018, 52,463 IP cases of first instance were
accepted by Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court,
rising 47.4% year on year, among which 39,032 were civil cases and 13,431 were administrative
cases. 49,596 IP cases of first instance were adjudicated, with a rise of 56% on
last year. There were 38,562 civil cases and 11,034 administrative cases among
them. The ratio of acceptance to adjudication of first-instance cases was 95% in
2018.
There
were 6,537 IP cases of second instance accepted by Beijing Third Intermediate
People’s Court in 2018, consisting of 2,466 civil cases and 4,071
administrative cases. 6,251 second-instance cases were adjudicated, consisting
of 2,067 civil cases and 4,184 administrative cases. 83 appeal cases were
accepted, consisting of 71 civil cases and 12 administrative cases. 84 appeal cases
were adjudicated, with 75 civil cases and 9 administrative cases. 11 retrial
cases were accepted, all of which were civil cases. 4 retrial cases were adjudicated.
With
the progressive attention of communities to the IP protection, a growing number
of parties choose to resolve IP disputes through judicial approach. The number
of IP cases accepted by courts in Beijing is still on the rise. In 2018, the
caseloads of many courts in Beijing has already broken through the historic
peak. Yang Boyong also indicated that the adjudicators force was not strengthened
and even was weakened in some courts, the number of cases adjudicated by courts
Beijing in 2018 reached a record high once again. It also means IP trials are
facing severe challenges under loads of cases.
Besides,
with the Supreme People’s Court(SPC) actively promoting the Beijing IP Court to
have centralized jurisdiction over technological IP cases of
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, and Beijing authorities enhancing
the construction of national science & technology innovation center, hot
and difficult cases emerge endlessly, which brings unprecedented tremendous
pressure on IP trials and puts forward higher requirements for the quality and
efficiency of trials.
The
Beijing Internet Court was established on September 9, 2018. According to the
Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Trial
of Cases by the Internet Court, it has jurisdiction over three types of
IP-related cases: “Disputes over the ownership of copyright or neighboring
rights of works published on the Internet for the first time; Disputes arising
from infringement upon copyright or neighboring rights of works published or
disseminated online through the Internet; Disputes over Internet domain name
ownership, infringements and contracts.”
The
IP Court of the SPC was officially set up on January 1, 2019. It is an
important measure taken by the SPC to implement the decisions and arrangements
of central government, to further enhance the judicial protection of IP, to
equally protect the IP of domestic and international market subjects, and to
provide strong judicial services and safeguard for China’s
building of a powerful IP nation.
Second-instance
cases related to patent, technical secrets, computer software, monopoly etc.
will be directly heard by the IP Court of the SPC henceforth, which will have a
certain impact on the IP trials of the Beijing High People’s Court. In addition
to continuing to hear relevant cases before the establishment of the IP Court
of the SPC, Yang said they will pay more attention to the unification of the
trial criteria on the confirmation and authorization of trademark right, and
reinforce the connection with the National IP Administration which reformed institutionally before, and effectively stop the
spreading trend of malicious registration of trademark.
At
the same time, Yang said that in 2019, the courts in Beijing will further play its
function and role of judicial protection of IP, and accurately grasp the
foothold on which IP-related trials serves the overall development of the
country and the capital, and properly handle various categories of IP-related
cases, for the purpose of playing the guiding and exemplary
role of judiciaries, and providing a comprehensive, efficient and powerful
judicial safeguard for the accelerated building of the national science &
technology innovation center and cultural center in Beijing.
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