Beijing Intellectual Property Court

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court (Chinese: 北京知识产权法院; pinyin: Běijīng zhīshì chǎnquán fǎyuàn) is a Court of special jurisdiction in the People's Republic of China, which handles: "first-instance IP civil or administrative cases with professional features involving patents, new varieties of plants, layout design of integrated circuit, know-how and so on." There are similar courts based in Shanghai and Guangzhou.[2]

Beijing Intellectual Property Court
北京知识产权法院
Běijīng zhīshì chǎnquán fǎyuàn
Courthouse of the Beijing IP court
Established31 August 2014[1]
JurisdictionIntellectual property in China
Location18 Zhanghua Road, Beijing, China
Appeals toSupreme People's Court
WebsiteBeijing IP Court
President
CurrentlySu Chi

History

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The Beijing IP Court was created at the same time as other courts in China by way of the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on the Establishment of IP Courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, which was adopted at the 10th session of the 12th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 31 August 2014.[3]

The Beijing IP Court closed 5,432 cases in 2015 and 8,111 cases in 2016.[4]

Functions

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The Beijing IP court generally has the same functions as the other intermediate IP courts, which include:

  1. Adjudicating over intellectual property infringement disputes.
  2. Complex disputes involving technology, computer software, plant varieties and integrated circuit designs.[3]
  3. Complex disputes involving trade secrets.
  4. Appeals from basic courts on copyright and trademark disputes.[3]
  5. Administrative appeals relating to the validity of trademarks and patents.
  6. Unfair competition disputes.[1]

However, the geographic territory covered by the Beijing IP Court also includes the offices of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, and the Patent Reexamination Board of CNIPA. This means that administrative appeals from CBIPA boards are made to the Beijing IP Court.[5]

Appeals from the Beijing IP Court are to the Supreme People's Court.[5] Beginning in 2019, those appeals go to a specialized IP tribunal within the Supreme People's Court, which is the exclusive appellate venue in China for technology-related IP lawsuits.[6]

Judges

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  • Su Chi[7]
  • Yang Jing

Use of precedent

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China has a civil law system. This means that laws can only be created by the legislature not the courts. Hence, there is no case law in China. However, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court has been trialing a "Case Guidance System" (案例指导制度 ànlì zhǐdǎo zhìdù).[8] While not legally binding, these cases can be considered a type of persuasive precedent. Such cases are used in the following manner:

...For each disputed focus of the case, no more than three cases are submitted; the case should be accompanied by a summary indicating the source of the case, its effective status, and the case in question. Comparison of key facts and similarities, referee rules or methods and standards contained in the case, the referee rules or methods and standards for the inspiration and guidance of the case under trial and its specific reasons. The case summary generally does not exceed 800 words, and the case and its abstracts, reference opinions, etc. can be submitted as an attachment to the complaint and the reply.[8]

Notable cases

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Wong, Deanna (16 January 2015). "Specialized IP courts in China are open for business". LimeGreen IP News. Hogan Lovells. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  2. ^ Article 2, Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on the Establishment of IP Courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
  3. ^ a b c "Specialized IP Courts Established in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou; Song Xiaoming New Chief IP Judge". ChinaIPR. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  4. ^ Wong, Deanna; Low, Eugene (20 April 2017). "Beijing IP Court celebrates 2nd anniversary amidst praise for its professionalism, expertise regarding foreign litigation and higher damages for IP infringement". LimeGreen IP News. Hogan Lovells. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Apply for a patent in China". Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. citing Zhang, Liguo (2015). "1.4 The judicial system". Introduction to Intellectual Property Protection in China (PDF). Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2020.
  6. ^ "New IP Appellate Tribunal in China". Patent- und Rechtanwaltskanzlei of Meyer-Dulheuer MD Legal Patentanwälte PartG mbB. 29 January 2019. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020.
  7. ^ Ge, Jill (15 September 2017). "CHINA: Beijing IP Court Publishes Initial Results of Case Precedent Pilot Project". International Trademark Association Bulletin. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b Yang, Jing (26 July 2017). "案例指导制度在知识产权领域的实践探索-中国法院网". ChinaCourt (in Chinese). Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  9. ^ Borak, Masha (15 September 2017). "China's largest internet IP dispute goes to court (again)". TechNode. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Sogou wins 3 out of 4 first instance software disputes against Baidu". Lifang Law. Lifang & Partners. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Baidu again sues Sogou for copyright infringement - China.org.cn". China.org.cn. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  12. ^ China Radio International (1 November 2016). "Baidu sues rival Sogou for copyright infringement". GBTimes. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  13. ^ Sun, Su (2017). "IWNCOMM v. Sony: Recent Development in FRAND Litigation in China". Economists Incorporated. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  14. ^ Lawson-Tancred, Jo (2023-09-05). "A Renowned Chinese Artist Has Been Found Guilty of Brazen Plagiarism After He Made Millions From Copying a Belgian Artist's Work". Artnet News. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
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