A provincial expert committee, made up of judges and academics was recently formed in Zhongshan to encourage study and research on intellectual property cases among courts and scholars.

The province has topped the nation in cases heard by local courts for six consecutive years. In 2009, the number of intellectual property civil cases accounted for more than one-fifth of the country's total.

In addition to traditional copyright, patent and trademark cases, local courts also heard disputes on online copyrights, new plant varieties, domain names, monopoly charges, licensing, well-known trademarks and other new subjects.

(Source: China Daily)