China records substantial surge in IP-related criminal cases
Take a Gander at the 2025 Chinese Intellectual Property Rights Report
It's time to shed some light on the juicy details of the Chinese intellectual property game! The Supreme People's Court of China has dropped a bomb with their latest annual report titled Status of Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Chinese Courts (2024). This dandy report provides a smorgasbord of insights into IP trends across the nation for the whole of 2024.
The report, published on April 21st, weighs in at a hefty 71 pages, and it's available in both Chinese and English. Here's a lowdown of the tasty IP litigation stats within, along with some intriguing shifts in the civil and administrative realms.
By the Numbers
Last year, Chinese courts received a total of 529,370 new IP cases, representing a 2.67% drop compared to 2023. But don't feel too sorry for them; the number of concluded cases spiked just a wee bit, with a marginal increase to 543,911.
Criminal IP Madness
But let's talk about the real thrill: criminal IP litigation. In 2024, there was a whopping 24.34% increase in first-instance criminal cases, with 9,120 received and 9,003 concluded – a 29.22% surge, y'all!
- Among these bad boys, a staggering 8,079 cases pertained to the infringement of registered trade marks. That's an increase of 21.78% and 26.11% for filed and resolved cases, respectively.
- Copyright infringement also saw a noteworthy spike, with 938 cases filed and 913 concluded. That's a 49.6% and 68.14% rise, yo!
- It's worth noting that only one new case involving patent counterfeiting was filed, but two previously filed cases were bown out. However, the broader category of miscellaneous criminal IP cases grew by 39.73% to 102, with 77 concluded (up 7.58%).
Civil and Administrative Landscape
In the civil sphere, punitive damages were applied in 460 cases involving serious malicious infringement, representing a considerable 44.2% increase from the previous year. However, the number of newly filed cases in key areas like patents, trade marks, and copyrights took a tumble.
- Patent cases fell by 1.02% to 44,255,
- Trade mark by 4.95% to 124,918,
- Copyright by 1.8% to 247,149
But don't worry; technology contract disputes and competition-related cases saw a nice uptick of 28.16% and 3.29%, respectively.
Administrative IP litigation also experienced growth, with 20,849 first-instance cases accepted and 27,745 concluded, showing respective increases of 1.29% and 24.19% year-on-year. Although newly filed patent-related administrative cases dropped by 15.63% to 1,679, trade mark cases grew by 3.08% to 19,130.
Whopping Monopoly Cases
Lastly, the report notes a significant increase in monopoly cases, with 31 cases identified. Commenting on this, He Zhonglin, deputy chief judge of the Intellectual Property Court, said in a statement: "We've paid closer attention to tackling lawsuits of monopolies in key sectors, including those involving people's livelihood, internet platforms, health care and telecommunication, so as to maintain fair competition and encourage innovation in a sound environment."
Additional Enrichment
- Ratio of criminal patent infringement cases versus total criminal IP litigation: In 2024, 32 cases concerned patent infringement, representing only 0.35% of the total criminal IP litigation.
- Reported economic damage due to intellectual property rights infringement: According to the report, economic damage due to IP rights infringement in China reached 457.4 billion yuan ($66.44 billion USD) in 2024.
- Top industries affected by IP crime: In 2024, the manufacturing, technology, and service industries were the most affected by copyright and trademark infringement, as well as counterfeit patent products.
- The report from the Supreme People's Court of China reveals an increase of 24.34% in first-instance criminal IP cases, with a focus on trademark infringement and copyright cases, involving 8,079 and 938 cases respectively.
- The report also highlights a marginal increase in concluded IP cases, reaching 543,911, while patent-related administrative cases saw a 15.63% decrease.
- In the civil sphere, the number of newly filed patent, trademark, and copyright cases saw a decline, but a significant increase in monopoly cases was noted, with 31 cases identified.
