Provisions on Jurisdiction in Cases of the Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou Intellectual Property Courts

(1) civil and administrative cases involving patents, new varieties of plants, integrated circuit layout designs, technical secrets and computer software;

(2) administrative cases in which a legal action is brought in respect of administrative acts involving copyrights, trademarks, unfair competition, etc. rendered by a State Council department or a local people's government at the county level or above; and

(3) civil cases involving the recognition of well-known trademarks.

Article 2: The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court shall have cross-regional jurisdiction over the cases specified in Items (1) and (3) of Article 1 hereof within Guangdong Province.

Article 3: The intermediate people's courts of Beijing Municipality and Shanghai Municipality and the Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court shall cease to accept civil and administrative intellectual property cases.

Other intermediate people's courts in Guangdong Province shall cease to accept cases as specified in Items (1) and (3) of Article 1 hereof.

Basic-level people's courts in Beijing Municipality, Shanghai Municipality and Guangdong Province shall cease to accept cases as specified in Items (1) and (3) of Article 1 hereof.

Article 4: Where the subject matter of a case contains both contents as specified in Items (1) or (3) of Article 1 hereof and other contents, jurisdiction shall be determined in accordance with Articles 1 and 2 hereof.

Article 5: The Beijing Intellectual Property Court shall have jurisdiction over the following administrative cases at first instance:

(1) those in which a party is dissatisfied over the ruling or decision granting or confirming an intellectual property right such as a patent, trademark, new variety of a plant or integrated circuit layout design rendered by a State Council department;

(2) those in which a party is dissatisfied over the decision for a compulsory licence for a patent, new variety of a plant or integrated circuit layout design or a ruling on the compulsory licence royalty or remuneration therefor rendered by a State Council department; and

(3) those in which a party is dissatisfied with another administrative act involving the granting or confirmation of an intellectual property right rendered by a State Council department.

Article 6: Where a party appeals a civil or administrative judgment or ruling at first instance involving intellectual property such as copyrights, trademarks, technology contracts, unfair competition rendered by a basic-level people's court in a municipality where an intellectual property court is located, such appeal shall be heard by the intellectual property court.

Article 7: Where a party appeals a judgment or ruling at first instance rendered by an intellectual property court or applies in accordance with the law for reconsideration to the court at the next higher level, the intellectual property division of the higher people's court of the place where the intellectual property court is located shall hear the same.

Article 8: Where cases as specified in Items (1) and (3) of Article 1 hereof were accepted by basic-level people's courts in provinces (municipalities directly under the central government) where intellectual property courts are located before the establishment of such courts but are still pending, the basic-level people's courts in question shall continue to try the same.

With the exception of the Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court, where cases as specified in items (1) and (3) of Article 1 hereof were accepted by other intermediate people's courts in Guangdong Province before the establishment of the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court but are still pending, the intermediate people's courts in question shall continue to try the same.