On June 3, 2021 and effective the same day, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued the “Approval of the Supreme People’s Court on the Issue of the Defendant’s Request for Compensation for Reasonable Expenses in Intellectual Property Infringement Lawsuits on the Grounds of the Plaintiff’s Abuse of Rights” (最高人民法院关于知识产权侵权诉讼中被告以原告滥用权利为由请求赔偿合理开支问题的批复). The Approval is in response to a request for instructions from the Shanghai Higher People’s Court for a defendant’s request for compensation and allows for compensation in intellectual property infringement lawsuits …
Category: Copyright
China’s National Copyright Administration Releases Top Ten Criminal Infringement and Piracy Cases of 2020
On June 1, 2021, China’s National Copyright Administration (NCAC) released the Top Ten Infringement and Piracy Cases of 2020 (2020年度全国打击侵权盗版十大案件). The NCAC jointly released the cases with the National Office of Anti-Pornography in order to demonstrate the results of the work done by copyright law enforcement offices and to provide guiding cases. While China doesn’t use a common law precedent system, relevant Courts and Administrative Agencies will occasionally identify cases for guidance. Criminal copyright can be strictly enforced in China …
TikTok Maker Sued for 2.274 billion RMB for Copyright Infringement and Trade Secret Misappropriation in China
On April 30, 2021, Meishe Technology (美摄科技) announced it has sued Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Weibo Vision Technology Co., Ltd. and affiliated entities for computer software copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation relating to ByteDance’s Douyin app (the Chinese version of TikTok) and other apps. Meishe is requesting a public apology and 2.274 billion RMB (~$351 million USD) for damages and expenses. Meishe Technology was established in 2014 and provides mobile video, audio, and image processing, recognition and …
China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate Releases 2020 Data and Typical Intellectual Property Cases
In follow up to China’s Ministry of Public Security’s press conference on April 23, 2021 regarding criminal Intellectual Property (IP) law investigations, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) on April 25, 2021 released criminal IP law prosecution data and a list of typical cases. In 2020, the SPP prosecuted 12,163 people in 5,847 cases, a year-on-year increase of 7.6% and 10.4% respectively. Criminal trademark infringement cases accounted for 94.2% of the total, copyright infringement cases accounted for 5.3% of the total, …