The third meeting of the Central Leading Group for comprehensively deepening of reforms was convened on June 6, at which several proposals such as the 'Proposal on Setting up IP Courts in China' have been adopted. China's Chairman Xi Jinping stated at the meeting that China is going to set up dedicated IP courts, among others, which is part of efforts of the basic and institutional measures of the ongoing reforms.

On the occasion of a new round of reforms on judicial system, the establishment of intellectual property courts in China can be considered as a trend, which is also the inevitable result of the evolvement of intellectual property rights, said experts.

Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court set up China's first intellectual property division in 1993. Since then, intermediate people's courts across the nation have followed suit. As of the end of 2012, there have been a total of 420 IP divisions, with judges specialized in hearing IP cases amounting to 2,700.

With the rapid development of intellectual property rights, related disputes have increased exponentially. According to the Supreme People's Court that the concluded civil cases of first instance by local courts increased from 3,000 in 2009 to 9,000 in 2013, administrative cases from 2,000 to 3,000 and criminal cases from 3,000 to 9,000.

Especially in recent years, foreign-related civil cases on intellectual property, cases involving new types of cutting-edge science and technology issues, difficult and complex cases and cases of well-known corporate brand protection have significantly increased. The increasing difficulty of handling those cases has raised new requirements for IPR trials.

With years of accumulated experience gained in IPR trials and the exploration of the three in one trial model, the establishment of specialized intellectual property courts has been gradually put on the agenda. The Decision on Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reforms adopted by the Third Plenum of the 18th Communist Party in 2013 says there are plans to 'strengthen IP application and protection and explore ways to set up IP courts.'

Subsequently, some economically developed regions including Jiangsu, Guangdong, Beijing and Shanghai have released signals of the willingness to establish IP courts.

Experts also expressed their views on a specific intellectual property court.

Yang Wu, NPC deputy and chairman of the Association of Patent Agents in China said during the two sessions period that China should establish intellectual property appellate court or circuit court of appeals and establish an appropriate expert committee in such courts. At the provincial level, intermediate courts on intellectual property should be built. Most grassroots people’s courts may establish intellectual property divisions in addition to those specialized IP courts built in areas where violations prevail.

Tao Xinliang, Dean of the Intellectual Property School of Shanghai University, suggested that intermediate courts on intellectual property could be established as the first instance court in major cities of areas, meanwhile a high court on intellectual property could be established as the second instance court in Beijing and the highest level IP court would still be the intellectual property tribunal of the Supreme People's Court. The said court in Beijing and courts in major cities may have a try on the circuit trial model, which can help further explore the 'distant remote video trial' model.

Source：IPR in China