Supreme People's Court, Several Provisions on Issues Concerning the Application of the Law on Trials of Patent Disputes

Promulgated: 22 June 2001
Effective: 1 July 2001

Main contents: The Provisions list the types of patent disputes that people's courts will hear (Article 1). The intermediate people's courts in provincial capitals or municipalities directly under the central government and other intermediate people's courts designated by the Supreme People's Court shall be the courts of first instance for such cases (Article 2). The Provisions also set out the general rules regarding the forum of patent infringement cases (Articles 5 to 7). When hearing a patent infringement dispute that involves a conflict of rights, the people's court shall protect the lawful rights of the party who has already legally acquired the rights (Article 15). These "already acquired rights", as referred to in Article 23 of the PRC, Patent Law, shall include trademarks, copyrights, trade names, etc. (Article 16). To patent infringements that occurred before 1 July 2001, the earlier version of the PRC, Patent Law is still applicable (Article 18). According to the Provisions, even if a decision has been made by a patent administration authority with regard to a patent infringement dispute, the people's court shall conduct a full hearing on the claims of the parties (Article 25). The Provisions also lay down certain rules for calculating damages for patent infringement under Paragraph One, Article 57 of the PRC, Patent Law (Article 20).