China launches appeal court for intellectual property right disputes
- New body, established by Supreme Court, will handle legal wrangles involving everything from new plant species to integrated circuit boards
- Court’s creation a necessary part of China’s development, and nothing to do with the trade war, boss says
China’s first ever appeal court for intellectual property disputes – a major bone of contention in the ongoing trade war with the US – will open for business in Beijing on Tuesday, the nation’s top court said on Saturday.
The new body would handle cases that demanded “highly technical expertise”, Luo Dongchuan, vice-president of the Supreme People’s Court, which established the new body, told a press conference in the Chinese capital.
The creation of the appeal court was the latest effort to protect intellectual property rights, inspire innovation and improve the business environment, said Luo, who will oversee its operations.
Individuals and companies would be able to use it to appeal against the rulings of other courts in cases involving patents, new varieties of plants, the design of integrated circuit boards and computer software, and monopolies, among other things, Luo said.
It would not handle cases concerned with unfair competition, trademarks or commercial secrets, he said.
The protection of intellectual property rights has been a key issue of the trade war, with the US accusing China of rampant IPR theft, often in the form of forced technology transfers. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Beijing’s lax protection laws, saying they had cost the United States up to US$600 billion a year.