In a joint conference with the Office for Protection of New Varieties of Plants under the Ministry of Agriculture, Supreme People's Court IPR Presiding Judge Jiang Zhipei said, courts of law in the nation entered decisions on 684 cases or 97.6% of all the outstanding cases relating to new varieties of plants during the six year span from 2002 to 2007.

Jiang summarized five features for this type of cases. Number of cases was on the rise steadily in general with growth rate dropping. An overwhelming 68.3% of cases were either settled or withdrawn. The varieties in question were truly various, ranging from traditional farm varieties such as corn, wheat and cabbage to asexual propagation material such as date. Most case

s went to jurisdictions in Shandong, Sichuan and other areas with more plantations or research centers. Complaint time of choosing appeared to be seasonal.

(China IP News)