If there’s one blog that covers the IPR environment in China well, it’s China IPR. A number of posts (here and here) have come out recently detailing the introduction of specialized IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
In line with broad plans for central Beijing government to decentralize decision making by further empowering individual jurisdictions, recent meetings of the National People’s Congress have clearly established the founding of these courts as a matter for serious ongoing discussion (emphasis on ongoing and conversation, not action as of yet).
As reported by China IPR (which provides links to the original Chinese language editorial), the specialized IP courts are proposed to have cross-regional jurisdiction over civil and administrative IP cases. Of course the focus is on patents and the benefits to high-tech industries, but this is surely a step in the right direction for the creative industries too.
“The specialized IP courts will also have jurisdiction over the appeals of first instance copyright and trademark civil verdicts, as well as appeals for administrative decisions made by the local courts where the specialized IP courts are located.”
The courts will help to strengthen IPR protection and provide greater uniformity in adjudication. The key beneficiaries of these courts will be established media enterprises rather than individual creators (with the exception of top-tier talent) however over time smaller businesses should also be able to benefit from increased protection (for instance, in cases where brands synchronize music without permission or online platforms host unlicensed content).
Having three courts would provide an interesting (potentially contentious) level of triangulation, particularly (as mentioned previously) there is a lack of precedents in place for how to deal with disputes. Putting IP legislation into practice is something that will take a great deal of time, but these early steps are encouraging.