Assessing Damages in Copyright Infringement Cases: The Beijing Court Takes the Lead

By Horace Lam, Senior Associate, Lovells, Beijing

For many years, the amount of damages awarded in copyright infringement litigation has been a source of complaint in China. Surveys conducted by the Beijing Higher People's Court (the Beijing Court) show that in Beijing great disparities exist between the amount of damages claimed by the plaintiff and the actual amount awarded by the courts. For most cases, the ratio is below 50%; for many cases, it is even below 10%.¹ Such a situation is by no means unique to Beijing. Rather, it is a common problem across the country.

An issue that worsens the problem is court fees. Court fees are payable by the plaintiff in China, and usually before to a trial starts. They are calculated based on the amount of damages claimed. The court fees, once paid, are not refundable, even where the damages awarded by the court are substantially lower than what is claimed, as is often the case. This sometimes results in a situation where the court fees paid are higher than the damages received, thus causing the plaintiff to win the case but lose money.