The Supreme People's Court's 2021 Annual Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Cases

May 20, 2022 | BY

Susan Mok

Danlei Wu of Fangda Partners shines a light on the Supreme People's Court's latest IP annual report, and shows how the SPC is leading the way in developing China's litigation landscape

 

Summary 

  • The selection of the top-10 IP cases of the year by the SPC has been a tradition since 2008, and continues to play an important role in the development of IP-related jurisprudence in China.
  • The Vanillin case, concerning trade misappropriation, involved a record-breaking damages award, despite there being no punitive damages element.
  • The Driving School case clarified that in order to claim exemption under Article 15 of the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law, a horizontal agreement must be necessary to realize the benefits and at the same time must not severely restrict competition in the relevant market.
  • Finally, the Double Trapeze case featured the admission of "new evidence" which came into being, in relation to a dispute where the owner of prior rights did not seek trademark registration as quickly as the squatter.

 

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