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Ahead of the 25th World Intellectual Property Day, the Shanghai High People’s Court (hereinafter referred to as the “SHPC”) held a press conference on April 23, 2025, to release the White Paper on Intellectual Property Adjudication by Shanghai Courts (2024) (hereinafter referred to as the “White Paper”), along with the Report on Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court (2024). The Court also announced the “Top 10 Judicial Protection Cases of Intellectual Property in Shanghai Courts (2024)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Top 10 Cases”) and the “Representative Cases of Judicial Protection Supporting New Quality Productive Forces (2024)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Representative Cases of New Quality Productive Forces”).
The press conference was attended by Cao Jie, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the SHPC; Li Shulan, Standing Member of the Adjudication Committee; Liu Junhua, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Shanghai Third Intermediate People's Court (which also serves as the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court and the Shanghai Railway Transportation Intermediate Court); and Tang Zhen, Chief Judge of the Intellectual Property Division of the SHPC. Zhang Haijuan, Director of the Law Publicity Department (News Center) and Spokesperson of the SHPC, chaired the press conference.
This conference marked the ninth session in the ongoing “Promoting Justice and Setting an Example—Advancing the Modernization of Shanghai Courts” press series.
According to the White Paper, in 2024, Shanghai courts accepted 47,388 intellectual property cases and concluded 52,061 cases, representing year-on-year decreases of 28.3% and 11.8%, respectively. Despite the drop in volume, trial quality and efficiency continued to improve. By the end of 2024, 54 intellectual property cases from Shanghai had been included in the National People’s Courts Case Database, ranking among the top nationwide.
Protecting intellectual property is protecting innovation. Over the past year, Shanghai courts have earnestly implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on developing new quality productive forces. They formulated the Opinions on Advancing the Modernization of Intellectual Property Adjudication to Safeguard the Development of New Quality Productive Forces, with a focus on strengthening judicial protection for innovation achievements in key technological fields. In total, 5,272 cases involving infringement of patent rights, trade secrets, and computer software copyrights were concluded, along with 2,310 cases related to AI technologies, e-commerce livestreaming, and other areas of the digital economy.
At the same time, Shanghai courts actively supported major national strategies such as the construction of the “Five Centers,” the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and the development of the Pudong pioneer area, demonstrating a strong sense of responsibility in safeguarding regional economic development. By the end of 2024, all newly designated intellectual property courts in Shanghai had implemented the “three-in-one” adjudication model—integrating civil, administrative, and criminal IP cases. The full implementation of this mechanism across all primary-level courts was successfully completed. Efforts were also made to improve the circuit adjudication service system for intellectual property, with a focus on supporting the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor in the Yangtze River Delta region, the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, and other science and technology innovation zones and enterprises throughout the city. Courts regularly conducted circuit hearings in industrial parks, research visits, training sessions, and public legal education activities to ensure the “last mile” of judicial IP protection was effectively bridged.
How can genuine innovation receive genuine protection? At the press conference, it was reported that in 2024, Shanghai courts lawfully implemented the punitive damages regime, ordering intellectual property infringers to pay over CNY 2.24 billion in total compensation to rights holders—an increase of 173.2% year-on-year. Of this, over CNY 110 million constituted punitive damages, reflecting a 132.4% year-on-year increase. These figures underscore Shanghai courts’ firm commitment to the rigorous protection of intellectual property rights.
To address persistent issues such as lengthy litigation cycles in IP cases, Shanghai courts also pushed for greater efficiency in IP adjudication. Notably, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court aimed to “improve efficiency through scientific management and institutional innovation,” It promoted diversified dispute resolution, advanced the separation of simple and complex cases, and continuously strengthened trial management with a strong focus on digital empowerment. It established cooperative relationships with 23 professional mediation organizations, including the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service, as well as one specialized arbitration institution. In addition, it formed a coordinated working mechanism with the Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center and other entities. These efforts have led to a steady increase in mediation success rates. In 2024, the average case adjudication time was reduced from 211.6 days in 2023 to 169.32 days, with the fast-track adjudication team achieving an average trial cycle of approximately 40 days.
In addition, substantial progress was made in achieving effective dispute resolution. For example, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court and the Shanghai Yangpu District People's Court resolved a batch of lawsuits involving over 6,000 infringing video links. They first rendered a model judgment for an individual link and then facilitated mediation between the parties, leading to a comprehensive settlement agreement. The Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court, in collaboration with the Beijing Internet Court, jointly established the “Beijing-Shanghai Coordinated Mediation” mechanism for cross-regional copyright protection. This initiative successfully resolved 229 mutual lawsuits involving parties from both cities, with a total disputed amount nearing CNY 200 million.
The press conference also presented the Top 10 Cases and the Representative Cases of New Quality Productive Forces. Among them, the Top 10 Cases covered disputes related to trademarks, copyrights, unfair competition, trade secrets, intellectual property contracts, and malicious IP litigation. These cases aim to summarize judicial experience, clarify adjudication rules, and foster a shared understanding of IP judicial protection.
For example, in a copyright infringement case involving a dispute between “long and short videos,” the defendant’s short video platform featured a large number of topics related to Empresses in the Palace (“甄嬛传”), offering users concentrated access to short video clips of the popular TV series. After trial, the Shanghai court held that the defendant's act of compiling a large volume of infringing short videos into a themed collection centered on the original work and presenting them uniformly to online users indicated a subjective awareness—or at least constructive knowledge—of the infringing conduct, and therefore the platform should bear civil liability for contributory infringement. The ruling clarified the standard for determining the duty of care required of short video sharing platforms.
The Representative Cases of New Quality Productive Forces involved cutting-edge technological fields such as nuclear power steam equipment, software compatibility, medical device R&D, chip projects, traffic hijacking, and “AI face-swapping.” These cases demonstrate how Shanghai courts have proactively supported the city’s goal of building a globally influential science and technology innovation center and safeguarded the development of new quality productive forces.
For instance, in a trade secret dispute involving the “spoiling” of undisclosed game characters, the Shanghai court held that the design and related information of unpublished game characters constituted trade secrets. In response to the disclosure of such characters, the court ruled not only to protect the content of the game characters themselves but also to safeguard the business model that enhances user engagement through version updates—along with the resulting competitive advantages—contributing positively to the healthy development of the gaming industry. In another case concerning infringement of the right of information network dissemination through “AI face-swapping,” the court ruled that such behavior did not constitute an original adaptation or fair use of the original work. It further clarified that AI-based network service providers bear a duty of reasonable care, thereby helping to strike a balance between technological innovation and rights protection. Both cases were included in the “2024 Typical IP Cases of People’s Courts” recently released by the Supreme People's Court.
Cao Jie indicated that 2025 marks the final year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and the planning year for the 15th Five-Year Plan. In this critical year of transition, Shanghai courts will adhere to main work theme of "political construction as the guide, judicial quality and efficiency as the core, and digital reforms as the empowerment". They will strictly enforce IP protection in accordance with the law, and fully support the development of new quality productive forces, and contribute more judicial strength to Shanghai's goal of becoming an international intellectual property protection hub, accelerating the construction of the "five centers", and expediting the building of a modern socialist international metropolis with global influence.
Comments from Representative Committee Members
Fan Zheng, deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and the General Manager of Shanghai Patent & Trademark Law Office, Ltd.
Over the past year, Shanghai courts have taken proactive steps in the field of intellectual property protection, providing strong judicial support for innovation-driven development. Notably, in emerging fields such as the digital economy and artificial intelligence, the courts have clarified behavioral boundaries through impartial rulings, effectively safeguarding market order and the innovation ecosystem. It is worth noting that Shanghai courts adhere to the concept of strict protection and have implemented more robust punitive damages in intellectual property cases. Both the number of cases applying punitive damages and the awarded compensation amounts have continued to grow, demonstrating the firm stance and determination in strictly protecting intellectual property rights. Shanghai courts have ensured that the legitimate rights and interests of rights holders are fully protected by actively applying evidence rules, adhering to market value orientation, and updating judicial adjudication concepts, thus conveying a clear judicial orientation to society.
Qiu Suo, Member of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Senior Partner at Shanghai AllBright Law Offices
Shanghai courts have made remarkable achievements in promoting the prevention of intellectual property disputes at the source and advancing diversified resolution of intellectual property disputes. Initiatives introduced at the press conference—such as advancing the construction of application scenarios for trials, establishing multi-level dispute resolution mechanisms, improving the circuit trial service system for intellectual property, and deepening cooperation between the judiciary and relevant administrative departments—have provided efficient and convenient pathways for dispute resolution for the parties involved. In particular, strengthening cooperation and integration with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service and actively participating in global governance under the WIPO framework highlight the international perspective of Shanghai courts, creating a fair and competitive legal environment for enterprises.
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