Dear friends:
There are two main contents in today's press conference: one is to inform the basic situation of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China courts in 2005; The second is to inform our courts of the main measures to strengthen the judicial protection of intellectual property rights.
I. Basic situation of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China courts in 2005.
In 2005, under the supervision and guidance of the Supreme Court, local courts at all levels across the country generally strengthened the trial of cases of intellectual property rights infringement, gave full play to the criminal, civil and administrative trial functions of the courts, promptly accepted litigation requests related to intellectual property rights according to law, strived to improve the trial quality and handling efficiency of cases, severely punished intellectual property rights infringement crimes in a timely manner according to law, and increased the civil liability that infringers should bear according to law. The judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China has been comprehensively strengthened, independent innovation and scientific and technological progress have been promoted, the socialist market economic order of honesty, credibility and fair competition has been improved, the legal awareness of the whole society to consciously respect and protect intellectual property rights in accordance with the law has been generally improved, and the judicial and social environment for intellectual property protection has been further improved.
(1) Strengthen criminal judicial protection of intellectual property rights.
In 2005, local courts at all levels in China gave full play to their criminal trial functions, promptly accepted cases of IPR infringement, severely punished and cracked down on IPR infringement activities according to law, and effectively strengthened the criminal judicial protection of IPR in China.
Last year, the number of IPR infringement cases accepted and concluded by local courts at all levels in China increased significantly. Local courts at all levels in China accepted 3,567 cases of first instance, up 28.36% year-on-year. Among them, there were 524 cases of crimes against intellectual property rights, up by 35.40%; Criminal cases of producing and selling fake and inferior commodities 1 17, up16.48%; Illegal business cases 1926, up by 34.40%. Local courts at all levels in China concluded 3529 criminal cases of infringement of intellectual property rights, up 28.28% year-on-year.
Last year, in the cases of intellectual property crimes concluded by local courts at all levels across the country, the number of people who were convicted and sentenced to more than fixed-term imprisonment increased significantly. Among the legally effective judgments of local courts at all levels in China, 5,336 people were sentenced, an increase of 30.66%. Among them, 53 19 people were convicted, accounting for 99.68%; 2963 people were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or above, accounting for 55.53%, up 23.90%. Among the concluded cases, there are 505 cases of IPR infringement, and the number of effective judgments is 741; Criminal cases of producing and selling fake and inferior commodities 1 12 1 piece, and effective judgments 1942 pieces; Illegal business cases 1903, and 2653 effective judgments.
(2) Strengthen the civil judicial protection of intellectual property rights.
In 2005, local courts at all levels in China gave full play to their civil trial functions, promptly accepted all kinds of litigation requests involving intellectual property rights in accordance with the law, and strived to improve the trial quality and handling efficiency of cases. By strictly ordering infringers and defaulting parties to bear civil liabilities such as compensation, imposing civil sanctions on infringers according to law, and adopting pre-litigation injunctions according to law, the judicial relief for obligees and non-defaulting parties has been strengthened, and the civil judicial protection of intellectual property rights has been further strengthened.
Last year, the number of civil cases of infringement of intellectual property rights accepted and concluded by local courts at all levels in China increased significantly. * * * Accepted intellectual property cases of first instance, second instance and retrial 16583, including unfair competition, up by 20.66% year-on-year; Closed 16453 cases, up 29.60% year-on-year. Newly accepted first-instance cases 13424, up by 26%. Among them, there were 6096 copyright cases, up by 42.96%; 2947 patent cases, up15438+0% year-on-year; Trademark cases 1782, up by 34.49%; Cases of unfair competition 1303, down by 2.10%; 636 technical contracts, an increase of 0.95%; New plant variety right 156, down10.26%; There were 504 other intellectual property cases, an increase of 365,438 cases, an increase of 0.59%. Cases of first instance13,393 were concluded, up by 38.04%, and the total amount of closed litigation was 26120,000 yuan, with an average of 6,543,800+0.95 million yuan. 3 1 14 new cases were accepted in the second instance, up by 2.40%; 30 16 cases were concluded, up by 3.04%. 45 new retrial cases were received and 44 cases were concluded.
The civil cases of intellectual property rights accepted last year have the following four characteristics: First, among the civil cases of intellectual property rights, the proportion of infringement and ownership cases is relatively high, accounting for 89.02% of the newly accepted cases of first instance in 2005. Second, the regional distribution of such cases is uneven, mainly concentrated in economically and culturally developed areas such as Guangdong, Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Shanghai. In 2005, these six provinces and cities accepted 65.38% of the first-instance cases in China. Third, the settlement rate of mediation is relatively high. Courts at all levels generally attach importance to and strengthen litigation mediation in the trial of intellectual property civil disputes. After mediation, 7247 cases of first instance were reached or rejected, accounting for 54. It accounts for% of the total number of cases of first instance. Fourth, the amount of compensation determined by court decisions has increased, and the number of cases in which compensation methods are applied to determine the amount of compensation has increased significantly. In some cases, the maximum legal compensation has been applied according to law, which has aggravated the civil liability of intellectual property infringers.
Two, the court to strengthen the judicial protection of intellectual property rights of the main measures
Since 2005, the Supreme Court and local courts at all levels have earnestly performed their judicial duties and taken various practical measures to effectively strengthen the judicial protection of intellectual property rights and comprehensively improve the level of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China courts. These measures mainly include:
(a) to cooperate with the special action to protect intellectual property rights, and establish a supervision system for major cases of IPR infringement crimes. In May 2005, the Supreme Court issued the Notice on Giving Full Play to the Judicial Function and Actively Participating in Rectifying and Regulating the Market Economic Order, requiring courts at all levels to focus on IPR infringement crimes and resolutely, promptly and severely punish IPR infringement crimes according to law. At the same time, it is necessary to give full play to the role of the court in civil and commercial trials, strictly bear the civil liability of infringers, and punish civil acts that infringe intellectual property rights; In the course of civil proceedings, if it is found that an economic crime is suspected, it shall promptly transfer the suspected clues and materials to the relevant public security organs or procuratorial organs for investigation. Recently, the Supreme Court issued the Notice on Strengthening the Trial of Intellectual Property Infringement Crimes, reaffirming once again that courts at all levels will work closely with relevant departments to establish a supervision system for major and important cases of intellectual property infringement crimes, register, track and supervise the major and important cases that have been cracked one by one, so that intellectual property infringement crimes can be punished and sanctioned as they deserve, and resolutely crack down on criminal activities that infringe intellectual property rights.
(2) Strengthen judicial interpretation and constantly improve China's intellectual property litigation system. According to all kinds of new situations and problems in intellectual property trials, the Supreme Court strengthened the judicial interpretation of the application of laws related to intellectual property trials, further improved China's intellectual property litigation system, and comprehensively improved the level of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China. On June 5438+ 10, 2005, the Supreme Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate * * * issued the Reply on Handling Criminal Cases of Copyright Infringement, which further clarified the conviction and sentencing standards for crimes involving intellectual property rights of audio-visual products and strengthened the criminal judicial protection of intellectual property rights. In addition, on the basis of in-depth investigation and extensive solicitation of opinions, the Supreme Court drafted four judicial interpretations, including unfair competition, infringement of new plant varieties, intellectual property conflicts, and music and television. , and went online in June 2005 to solicit public opinions. At present, the work of soliciting opinions has ended, and the Supreme Court is organizing forces to summarize and sort out the relevant amendments, and according to these opinions and suggestions, the above-mentioned draft judicial interpretation will be revised and improved so as to be promulgated and implemented as soon as possible.
(three) to take legal measures to prevent the loss of the obligee from expanding. Local courts at all levels in China attach great importance to and apply provisional measures before litigation and litigation measures such as property preservation and pre-execution in litigation according to law, so as to stop infringement in time and effectively prevent the loss of obligees from expanding. According to statistics, from the revision of the three major intellectual property laws to 5,438+10 in June 2005, local courts nationwide accepted 30 cases of pre-litigation injunction, and concluded 299 cases. In the case where the applicant insisted on applying, the actual ruling support rate reached 88.06%. * * * Accepted 470 cases of evidence preservation before litigation, and concluded 445 cases. In the case where the applicant insisted on applying, the actual ruling support rate reached 95.02%; * * * Property preservation before litigation was accepted 147, and closed 142. In the case where the applicant insisted on applying, the actual ruling support rate reached 96.64%.
(four) conscientiously perform the function of judicial review, strengthen the supervision of intellectual property administrative acts according to law. The local courts at all levels in China conscientiously perform the judicial review function in cases of patents, trademarks and other authorized cases and cases of administrative enforcement of intellectual property rights, protect the legitimate rights and interests of administrative counterparts according to law, and further promote the administration of administrative organs according to law. In 2005, local courts at all levels in China received 575 cases of first instance of intellectual property administration, up 9.32% year-on-year; 576 cases were concluded, a year-on-year increase of 4.92%. Among them, 335 new patent cases were received, down by11.14%; 209 trademark cases, up 48.23%; Copyright cases were 3 1 piece, with a year-on-year increase of 287.50%. In patent and trademark administrative cases, the Patent Reexamination Board and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board are defendants.
(five) to identify well-known trademarks according to law and strengthen the judicial protection of well-known trademarks. Local courts at all levels in China have strengthened judicial protection of well-known trademarks according to law, effectively protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign trademark owners. According to the principles of case identification, passive identification and identification according to the needs of the case, as of June 5438+ 10, 2005, local courts at all levels in China have identified 72 well-known trademarks. Among them, from June 2005 to June 2005, among the 42 pieces identified, 9 pieces of well-known trademarks were owned by foreigners. At this press conference, we have provided 72 cases of well-known trademarks to journalists and friends.
(six) timely adjustment of the court of appeal, rational allocation of judicial resources, protection of intellectual property rights. Last year, the Supreme Court appointed four intermediate courts in Quanzhou, Fujian, Jinhua, Zhejiang, Nantong, Jiangsu and Zhuzhou, Hunan as the courts of first instance for patent disputes, in order to accept the claims of obligees in time and improve the trial efficiency of intellectual property cases. Three intermediate courts in Jiuquan, Wuwei and Zhangye of Gansu Province were appointed as the courts of first instance for disputes over new plant varieties. Up to now, there are 52 intermediate courts, 37 intermediate courts and 43 intermediate courts in China that have jurisdiction over first-instance cases of patents, new plant varieties and layout-design of integrated circuits. The Supreme Court has also approved grass-roots courts in some big cities to accept first-instance cases of civil disputes over intellectual property rights except patents, new plant varieties and integrated circuit layout designs. By the end of 2005, 15 grass-roots courts in China had obtained jurisdiction over intellectual property cases. These adjustments made by the Supreme Court to the courts that accept intellectual property cases have optimized the allocation of resources for judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China, and will play a very important role in improving the quality and efficiency of cases and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of obligees.
(seven) to strengthen professional training, and strive to improve the overall business level. In 2005, the Supreme Court held two intellectual property trial training courses at the National Judges College, and * * * 250 local court judges specializing in intellectual property cases received training; Many high courts have also held similar training courses or seminars, and so far, intellectual property judges across the country have generally accepted rotation training. Through training, the legal level and professional knowledge level of intellectual property judges in courts at all levels in China have been significantly improved. In 2006, the Supreme Court will further strengthen the training of intellectual property judges in various forms. On March 2 1 this year, the Second Criminal Division of the Supreme Court will hold a seminar and high-level forum on criminal protection of intellectual property rights between China and Europe in Xiamen. These trainings and seminars are of great significance for improving the professional quality of intellectual property judges and promoting the level of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China.
(eight) to carry out in-depth investigation and study, and strive to improve the judicial protection mechanism of intellectual property rights. The fundamental way to strengthen intellectual property protection is to reform and improve the law enforcement system and working mechanism of intellectual property protection. At present, the relevant state departments are studying and improving the national intellectual property law enforcement system. The Supreme Court is also conducting a special investigation on "Improving the Judicial Protection Mechanism of Intellectual Property Rights". On the basis of in-depth investigation and study, aiming at facilitating the litigation and trial of the parties, optimizing the allocation of trial resources, simplifying relief procedures and ensuring the unity of law enforcement, this paper puts forward scientific countermeasures to improve the organizational basis of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China and rationalize the operational mechanism of procedures, and will strive to promote the transformation and implementation of research results.
(9) Actively take various feasible measures to further improve the transparency of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China courts. Recently, the Supreme Court issued the Notice on Preparing for Online Judgment Documents of Intellectual Property Rights, requiring qualified high courts to gradually realize the online disclosure of effective judgment documents of intellectual property cases within their jurisdiction, and further increase the transparency of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in Chinese courts; At the same time, it also publicizes the legal system of intellectual property rights to the society in order to raise the awareness of protecting intellectual property rights in the whole society. Today, I am here to announce to reporters that the column of intellectual property judgment documents on the Supreme People's Court China Court Network was officially opened today. Welcome all journalists, friends and people from all walks of life to visit. Last year, the Supreme Court published ten typical cases of intellectual property protection, and will publish another ten typical cases in the near future, which will fully reflect the basic situation of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China courts to the society. At the same time, actively guide public opinion through various channels and create a judicial and social environment conducive to intellectual property protection. The Supreme Court also decided that the Third Civil Division of the Supreme Court and the courts specialized in hearing intellectual property civil cases of relevant local courts can use the title of "intellectual property court" at the same time.
I also want to take this opportunity to inform you of an important news. The Supreme Court and local high courts will establish and improve the press spokesman system, and the press spokesman of the Supreme Court will regularly or irregularly release the major deployment of the work of the Supreme Court to the society, answer some important questions of social concern, and further reflect the judicial transparency of our country.
Dear journalists and friends, China courts will give full play to the function of judicial protection of intellectual property rights, equally protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign intellectual property owners according to law, earnestly fulfill the obligation of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China, comprehensively improve the level of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in China courts, and promote the implementation of China's innovative national strategy and the perfection of China's unified, open, honest and fair competition socialist market economic system.
Thank you all.