China's supreme court urges efficient trials of IPR cases

A senior official of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) has called for improved efficiency in the trials of intellectual property rights (IPR) cases, according to a SPC statement published Thursday.

Tao Kaiyuan, vice president of the SPC, said the special courts for IPR cases should push forward a reform that is focused on trialing while working out ways to handle the increasing number of cases.

China established its first special court for IPR cases in Beijing in early November. Two similar courts in Shanghai and Guangzhou are scheduled to open by the end of this year, according to the SPC.

In August, China's top legislature approved the SPC's plan to set up three special courts for IPR cases in an effort to improve efficiency and quality of trials in IPR cases.

The courts will specialize in civil and administrative lawsuits regarding patents, new plant varieties and technological knowledge.

While on a fact-finding tour at the IPR court in Beijing, Tao said the courts should better management and improve their ability to examine and confirm evidence.

The Beijing IPR court handled 221 cases in one month since being established on Nov. 6, according to data from the State Intellectual Property Office. About 63 percent of the cases are administrative lawsuits regarding patents and brands, according to the office.

Chinese courts dealt with more than 88,000 new IPR cases in 2013, up 1.3 percent from the year before, according to the SPC.