On February 21, 2023, China Supreme People's Court (SPC) released the Report on the Judicial Reform of Chinese Courts (2013-2022). With regard to intellectual property, the report discusses the creation of new mechanisms (e.g., patent linkage), the establishment of an Intellectual Property Tribunal under the Supreme People's Court, and the establishment of intellectual property courts and intellectual property tribunals in several jurisdictions, etc. However, any judicial reform will take place in a Chinese context.

In November 2017, the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms approved the Opinions on Several Issues concerning Strengthening Reform and Innovation in the Field of Intellectual Property Adjudication. The Opinions aimed to improve the mechanism for validity proceedings and evidence rules that are both tailored for the characteristics of intellectual property adjudication and to establish a mechanism for damages that reflects the reasonable value of the infringed intellectual property.

To provide strict protection for inventions and scientific and technological innovations, the SPC promulgated guiding opinions and issued judicial interpretations on properly handling administrative cases involving rejecting and revoking patents and patent infringement disputes. To safeguard people’s lives and health, the SPC implemented the patent linkage system of medicine.

By adequately handling a series of cases involving cutting-edge innovations, including 5G, bio-pharmaceuticals, high-end equipment manufacturing, new material, and new energy, the SPC provided strong protection for an incentive to innovations, thus benefiting the upgrade of technologies and industries. Meanwhile, the SPC correctly applied the Scientific and Technological Progress Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Promoting the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements Law of the People’s Republic of China and properly handled innovation-related disputes over-identification of inventors, transfer of rights, evaluation of IP and distribution of benefits, as well as employee inventors right and interests in accordance with the law.

Regarding agricultural technology achievements, the SPC strengthened the protection by formulating judicial interpretations on cases involving the rights of new varieties of plants and placing more emphasis on germplasm protection. The Intellectual Property Tribunal of the SPC, along with 4 IP courts, concluded a series of significant IP cases that clarified adjudication rules with global impact. These cases effectively protected the intellectual property rights of China’s core technologies in key fields, maintained competition order in emerging industries, and thus promoted innovation-driven development.