The IP Court of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), which was inaugurated in 2019, published on 28 February 2022, its 2021 annual report for the 3rd consecutive year. The data in the report delineates the IP Court’s operation and the cases it heard.

1. Cases accepted and concluded

In 2021, the court accepted a total of 5,238 technology-related intellectual property and monopoly cases and concluded 3,460 therein. Compared with 2020, the number of newly received cases increased by 1,158, up 36.4%; the number of closed cases increased by 673, up 24.1%.

2. Case cycle

In 2021, each judge hears 83.5 cases in average. The cycle for concluding various types of cases averages 134 calendar days, of which the average cycle for concluding a civil appeal is 129.4 calendar days, and that for concluding an administrative appeal is 143.6 calendar days.

3. Case breakdown

Among the 2,569 newly accepted civil appeal cases which the court is to decide on the merits, there are 576 infringement cases related to invention patent, 806 regarding infringement of utility model, 213 regarding disputes over application rights and patent ownership, 68 over new plant varieties disputes, 79  over trade secrets, and 593 related to computer software disputes, 153 over technology-related IP contractual disputes, 25 anti-trust cases, and 56 other types of cases. Cases of infringement of invention patent rights, computer software disputes, patent application rights and patent ownership disputes, technical secret disputes, and new plant variety rights disputes increased significantly.

Among the 1,290 newly accepted administrative appeal cases which the court is to decide on the merits, 457 cases are about the rejection of invention patent applications, 36 over the rejection of utility model patent applications, 3 over the rejection of design patent applications, 283 over the invalidity of invention patent rights, 234 over the invalidity of utility model patents, 102 over the invalidity of design patents, and 175 other administrative cases such as administrative penalties and administrative rulings. All kinds of administrative disputes have increased dramatically year-on-year, with the number of disputes involving the rejection of invention patent applications and the invalidity of invention patent rights registering the highest growth.

4. Decision outcome

Among the 2,023 civil appeal cases which the court concluded over substantial matters, the first-instance decision was upheld in 1,004 cases (49.6%); 440 cases (21.7%) were concluded with the appellant’s withdrawal of appeal and 198 cases (9.8%) were concluded by mediation; the rest 381 cases (18.8%) were either remanded for re-adjudication or had the first-instance decision reversed in part or in its entirety.

Among the 971 administrative appeal cases which the court concluded over substantial matters, the first-instance decision was maintained in 862 cases (88.8%); 43 cases (4.4%) were concluded with appellant’s withdrawal of case; 64 cases (6.6%) were either remanded for re-adjudication or had the first-instance decision reversed in part or in its entirety.

Authored by Johnson Li