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How can we prevent fake brands from taking advantage of our hard-earned brands? How do we clarify the ownership of cutting-edge core technologies in collaborative R&D? With the ongoing emergence of novel business models and technologies, how should the limits of emerging competitive practices be defined?
These challenges that private enterprises encounter in their development are both sore points and practical challenges that judicial protection needs to directly address. As World Intellectual Property Day approaches, the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court (hereinafter referred to as "Pudong New Area People's Court") held a press conference on April 16, 2025, to release the White Paper on Intellectual Property Judicial Services Ensures the High-Quality Development of Private Enterprises, along with typical cases, actively responding to corporate demands and maximizing the benefits of the rule of law.
This press conference marked the 7th in the series titled “Promoting Justice, Making an Example—Further Advancing the Modernization of Shanghai Courts’ Work”.
At the press conference, Bao Yehong, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Pudong New Area People's Court, reported on the trial of IP cases involving private enterprises handled by the Court from 2023 to 2024. Gong Xiaoyan, Chief Judge of the Intellectual Property Division, introduced 16 typical cases. Yan Jianyi, Deputy Director of the Political Department and spokesperson, presided over the event.
Some deputies to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress were invited to attend the press conference.
8,984 Cases Were Accepted in Two Years with the Total Value of Cases Exceeding CNY 2.7 Billion
According to the White Paper, from 2023 to 2024, the Pudong New Area People's Court accepted a total of 8,984 IP cases involving private enterprises, accounting for 96.2% of all IP cases filed during the same period. Among them, 8,961 were civil cases, 21 were criminal cases, and 2 were administrative cases.
Judging from the distribution of case causes, copyright disputes accounted for the highest proportion of civil cases, reaching 84.4%, followed by trademark disputes and IP contract disputes. As for criminal cases, trademark-related crimes such as counterfeiting registered trademarks accounted for the highest proportion, reaching 85.7%, followed by copyright infringement and trade secret infringement.
With respect to case settlement methods, 7,914 cases were settled through mediation or withdrawal, achieving a mediation/withdrawal rate of 85.5%. This reflects the distinctive characteristics of private enterprises—namely, the flexible decision-making, a high priority on efficiency, and a strong demand for industry cooperation. Additionally, the total value of intellectual property cases involving private enterprises reached over 2.7 billion yuan, highlighting the growing commercial value and competitiveness of private enterprises’ intellectual property.
The White Paper further notes that private enterprises are the most active participants in IP litigation. There were 5,376 cases in which both the plaintiff and the defendant were private enterprises, accounting for 60% of the total, and these cases are widely distributed across various industries, primarily focusing on IT and cultural arts sectors.
Besides, five key issues in the protection of IP rights among private enterprises also be indicated: inadequate IP management capabilities in cultural and creative enterprises, insufficient legal awareness regarding brand protection among private enterprises, increasing complexity of competitive behavior driven by emerging business models and formats, frequent cooperation in cutting-edge technology fields prone to disputes, and multifaceted challenges in safeguarding trade secrets due to heightened attention.
Multiple Measures to Foster a First-Class Business Environment
In recent years, the Pudong New Area People's Court has continuously enhanced its judicial protection mechanisms for enterprises. It has released the Ten Measures of the Pudong New Area People's Court to Provide Judicial Services to Ensure the Economic Growth of the Private Economy and implemented the Implementation Plan for Special Action to Further Promote the Construction of a Rule of Law-based Business Environment" by the Pudong New Area People's Court, with a focus on improving the effectiveness of judicial services for private enterprises.
On one hand, the Court has fully implemented the principle of equal protection to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of private enterprises on an equal basis and by law. On the other hand, it has applied the strictest judicial protection and strengthened IP protection for them. Over the past two years, Pudong New Area People's Court has applied punitive damages in eight IP cases filed by private enterprises, accounting for 72.7% of all punitive damages rulings during that period.
As a pioneer in China for exploring a unified "three-in-one" trial model for (IPR) cases—where civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings within one Intellectual Property Division—the Pudong New Area People's Court has continued to leverage the advantages of this integrated mechanism and severely punished crimes that infringe on the IP rights of private enterprises. Over the past two years, the Court has sentenced 27 defendants for such violations.
In terms of dispute resolution at the source, Pudong New Area People's Court has actively developed a diversified dispute resolution system. For example, it has established a Beijing-Shanghai copyright protection and governance cooperation mechanism, successfully resolving three batches of 237 IP disputes across the two regions, with the total value of the cases amounting to CNY 189 million.
Meanwhile, the it has cultivated a reliable and sound market environment, targeted malicious and fraudulent litigation, efficiently implemented interim measures and evidentiary rules, and strengthened legal and policy guidance to enhance the effectiveness of IP protection for private enterprises and accelerate the construction of a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment.
16 Typical Cases Serve As the Demonstration
The 16 typical cases released at the press conference are closely aligned with the actual development of private enterprise, with an emphasis on cutting-edge areas such as AI, online games, and virtual space. These cases provide judicial determinations on issues such as implied reverse passing-off trademark infringement, liability for infringement in search aggregation scenarios, the legitimacy of sending infringement warning letters, and whether undisclosed game character designs constitute trade secrets. The Court aims to promote governance and development through judicial decisions.
For instance, in the first criminal case nationwide concerning trade secret infringement within the AI chip sector, the defendant unlawfully copied and transferred large volumes of confidential data from the chip company to a local computer and uploaded it to personal cloud storage. The court employed the cost method to accurately assess the value of the misappropriated trade secrets and then convicted the defendant of the crime of trade secret infringement, sentencing him to two years’ fixed-term imprisonment with a two-year probation period and a fine. This case explored the determination of loss amounts in crimes of illegal acquisition and possession of trade secrets, providing useful guidance for similar cases and reinforcing judicial protection for high-tech enterprises.
Franchising is one of the industries where private enterprises are at higher risk of IP infringement. In a case concerning trademark infringement and unfair competition, a hotel continued to use the trademark of the rights holder after terminating their cooperation agreement. The Court applied the agreed-upon base amount and multiplier for damages, ultimately awarding fivefold punitive damages totaling nearly CNY 630,000. The conclusion of the case has effectively safeguarded the lawful rights and interests of private enterprises as trademark holders and regulated competitive order in the franchising market, holding certain exemplary value.
[Representative Comments]
Song Gang, Deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and Senior Vice President of Integrated Supply Chain, Envision Group
On the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day (April 26), the release of the White Paper and typical cases by the Pudong New Area People's Court provides a comprehensive review of the characteristics and issues associated with IP disputes involving private enterprises. It also puts forwards the IP-related risks and challenges faced by these enterprises in their development—serving as a vivid and practical lesson of the IP law. In recent years, the Pudong New Area People's Court has closely aligned its efforts with national strategies, supporting industrial innovation through judicial practice. By adhering to principles of strict, equal, and innovative protection, the Court has continuously strengthened its intellectual property protection for private enterprises—particularly technology-based ones—effectively promoting their sound development and enhancing their comprehensive competitiveness. It is expected that the Pudong New Area People's Court will continue to leverage its reputation as a benchmark for IP TRIAL in Shanghai and contribute more "Pudong experience" and "Pudong wisdom" to the global IP governance.
Yu Zhenyu, representative of Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and Shanghai Factory Automation Supervisor of Shanghai Highly Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd.
Rule-of-law protection is essential to the sound development of private enterprises. Over the years, the Pudong New Area People's Court has adopted several pragmatic and effective measures—such as the “three-in-one” trial mechanism and diversified dispute resolution system—to provide judicial support for building a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment. The 16 typical cases released today has fully demonstrated the effectiveness of the Pudong New Area People's Court in adhering to the principle of equal protection and its timely response to the demands of business entities, and conveyed a strong determination to provide judicial protection for the IP rights of private enterprises. It is hoped that the Pudong New Area People's Court will continue to intensify its protection for the private sector, further stimulate innovation vitality, and better safeguard the healthy and high-quality development of private enterprises.
上海市浦东新区人民法院知识产权司法服务保障民营企业高质量发展白皮书（2023-2024）.docx
上海市浦东新区人民法院知识产权司法服务保障民营企业高质量发展典型案例（2023-2024）.docx
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