On November 3, 2023, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Typical Cases of Film Intellectual Property Protection by the People’s Courts (人民法院电影知识产权保护典型案例). The SPC stated, “In order to strengthen the publicity of the rule of law in the film field, further stimulate the innovation and creativity of the film industry, and promote the prosperity of socialist culture, the Supreme People’s Court issued typical cases on the protection of film intellectual property rights. Typical cases include both criminal cases and civil …
Category: Copyright
China’s National People’s Congress Releases Translation of Criminal Law Including IP Provisions
China’s National People’s Congress has recently released a translation of China’s Criminal Law, which includes many Intellectual Property provisions. The Criminal Law was most recently amended at 24th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress on December 26, 2020 and went into force on March 1, 2021. The amendments increase the maximum sentencing term for IP crimes and also add a new article somewhat similar to the US’ Economic Espionage Act potentially in effect if not …
China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate Releases the 48th Batch of Guiding Cases Focusing on IP
On September 14, 2023, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released the 48th batch of guiding cases (关于印发最高人民检察院 第四十八批指导性案例的通知). This batch include 4 cases (Prosecution Cases No. 191-194) with the theme of “Comprehensive Procuratorial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.” The cases yielded significant prison sentences for copyright infringement and false copyright litigation.
Belgian Artist Christian Silvain Wins Copyright Suit Against Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts Professor at Beijing IP Court
On August 24, 2023, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court announced a ruling for Belgian artist Christian Silvain against Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts Professor Ye Yongqing. The Court ruled that Ye infringed the copyright of Silvain in his paintings and ordered Ye to pay Silvain 5 million RMB, publish an apology in the Global Times newspaper and cease infringement. This is believed to be the highest damages award in China in a fine-arts case.