On March 7, 2023, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) submitted their 5-Year Work Reports to the National People’s Congress. Zhou Qiang, president of the SPC, stated that courts across the country intensified IP protection of key technologies and emerging and major industries. Procurator-General Zhang Jun stated that offices specializing in tackling IP cases have been established in procuratorial agencies in 29 provincial-level regions.
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China To Upgrade Status of the China National Intellectual Property Administration
On March 7, 2023, China released the 2023 State Council Institutional Reform Plan (Plan) (国务院机构改革方案). The National People’s Congress (NPC) is set to approve the Plan on March 9. The Plan will remove the China National Intellectual Property Administration from the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) and make it a top-level agency under the State Council. The SAMR will continue its enforcement of IP rights.
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Report on the Judicial Reform of Chinese Courts (2013-2022)
On February 21, 2023, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Report on the Judicial Reform of Chinese Courts (2013-2022) (中国法院的司法改革（2013—2022)). With respect to intellectual property, the Report discusses the establishing of new mechanisms (e.g., patent linkage), establishing of the IP Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court and the establishing of IP Courts and IP Tribunals in several jurisdictions, etc. However, note that any judicial reform will occur in a Chinese context. For example, the State Council stated a few …
Forbidden: China Geo-Blocking Americans from Accessing Supreme People’s Court Website and Published Decisions
Update: A hearty thank you to China for making these sites accessible as of November 20, 2022! Recently, China has started geo-blocking Americans and other foreigners from accessing the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) website and China Judgements Online. Attempting to access these sites leads to a 403 Forbidden error message with “reason:GeoBL.” However, the more-limited English version of the SPC’s website remains available, making it appear not to be a technical error. Chinese websites for the China National Intellectual Property Administration, …