ANNUAL REPORT ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CASES OF THE SUPREME PEOPLE'S COURT （2008）

Preface

The Intellectual Property（IP）Division of the Supreme People's Court（SPC）is responsible for the trial of various cases involving civil IP disputes and some administrative disputes over authorization and affirmation of patent and trademark.[1]In 2008，the IP Division of the SPC accepted 277 IP cases involving patent infringement disputes，copyright infringement disputes，trademarkinfringement disputes，unfair competition disputes，various IP contract disputes and authorization and affirmation disputes over patent and trademark，along with 52 unsettled cases accepted in 2007，the IP Division tried 329 cases totally in 2008，increased by 103.9%on a yearly basis.The SPC performed IP trial duties in accordance with laws，resolved various IP disputes and protected the legitimate rights and interests of the parties concerned.In the meantime，the SPC constantly clarified issues concerning the application of relevant laws and preserved the unification of IP judicial standards through the trial of a series of complicated and new types of IP cases.The interpretation on issues concerning the application of relevant laws presented in the IP cases concluded by the SPC is of guidance and reference significance for the IP judicial protection conducted by all the courts across the country.In order to summarize the trial experience in a timely manner，reinforce trial supervision and guidance，and promote the unification and perfection of the application standards of the IP law，the IP Division of the SPC has compiled this annual report on trial summaries of selected 23 typical cases chosen from 184 cases concluded in 2008，and now releases it to the public.