The China International Import Expo (hereinafter referred to as "CIIE"), as a vital platform for international trade and investment cooperation, also serves as a key window for showcasing China's efforts in intellectual property (IP) protection and optimizing the global business environment.

As a judicial authority for the permanent host venue of the CIIE, the Qingpu District People's Court of Shanghai (hereinafter referred to as the "Qingpu District People's Court") adheres to its mission of "serving national strategies and safeguarding the convention economy". Centering on full-chain IP protection, the court has adjudicated a series of typical cases involving exhibitions, new quality productive forces, and people's livelihoods, thus providing a solid rule-of-law guarantee for high-quality regional industrial development.

On the afternoon of November 3, as the 8th CIIE commenced, Qingpu District People's Court held a press conference to release the Working Initiatives for Advancing Full-Chain Intellectual Property Protection and Providing Judicial Services and Guarantees for the 8th CIIE (hereinafter referred to as the "Working Initiatives") and typical cases.

At the conference, Zhang Xiaoqin, Vice President of Qingpu District People's Court, reported on the court's achievements in providing services for the CIIE and explained the details of the Working Initiatives. Chen Qiang, Chief Judge of the Xihongqiao (CIIE) People's Court, presented the typical cases. The press conference was chaired by Gao Jindeng, Head of the Political Department and spokesperson. Attendees included Ning Feng, President of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai); Fang Zhengjie, President of Qingpu District People's Court; as well as deputies to the Municipal People's Congress, members of the District CPPCC Committee, experts, scholars, and media journalists.

As CIIE's international influence continues to grow, exhibitors have posed higher demands for the professionalism, timeliness, and coordination of IP protection. Since the beginning of this year, Qingpu District People's Court has maintained frequent communication and collaboration with partner institutions through field visits, research, and symposiums. While formulating the Working Initiatives to safeguard the 8th CIIE, the court selected typical cases. This not only provides precise judicial support for the CIIE but also further deepens and improves full-chain collaborative IP protection across Qingpu District and the Yangtze River Delta Demonstration Zone, enabling CIIE exhibitors and key Qingpu industries to experience a more efficient, convenient, and comprehensive IP protection environment.

At the conference, Zhang Xiaoqin provided an in-depth explanation of the six service and safeguard measures introduced for IP protection during the CIIE, forming a full-chain IP protection system covering "prevention, resolution, and penalty".

For basic judicial services, the Qingpu District People's Court, together with the District Administration for Market Regulation, People's Procuratorate, Judicial Bureau, and other institutions, promoted the establishment of the Yangtze River Delta Demonstration Zone Full-Chain Collaborative IP Protection Center within a one-kilometer radius of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), innovatively creating a "1-Kilometer Judicial Service Circle". The Center plans to establish a "Specialized IP Circuit Courtroom", and conduct circuit trials for typical infringement cases centering on new quality productive force industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and green energy, as well as key exhibition-related sectors like CIIE. Exhibitors and industry association representatives were invited to attend hearings, raising legal awareness through intuitive case-based legal education. Additionally, a collaborative platform known as the "Qingpu Rule-of-Law Salon" has been established. In regular cooperation with departments of market regulation, culture and tourism, commerce, and industry associations, the platform conducts seminars, industry lectures, and field research on high-frequency issues such as IP protection during exhibition preparation and the resolution of enterprise-related disputes, building a co-governance mechanism featuring "judicial leadership, multi-party participation, and demonstrative guidance".

To meet the needs of dispute resolution, the Qingpu District People¡¯s Court has further enhanced the one-stop "litigation-mediation-arbitration" mechanism, promoting a shift from fragmented and reactive dispute handling to a systematic and collaborative approach. On one hand, the court¡ªworking with relevant mediation organizations¡ªhas selected from their rosters a group of professional mediators, including technical experts, senior lawyers, retired judges, and arbitrators who possess multilingual capabilities and are experienced in international exhibition rules, international trade norms, international IP protection frameworks, foreign-related laws, and technology. Together, they have formed the "International IP Mediation Expert Database for CIIE-Related Cases" to provide multilingual and precise mediation services for cross-border, highly complex IP disputes arising from exhibitions. On the other hand, the court has established regular cooperation with Shanghai arbitration institutions to promote the seamless integration of litigation and arbitration, encouraging business entities to choose Shanghai as their preferred venue for dispute resolution.

To extend the reach of services, Qingpu District People's Court has established "Judicial Observation Points" in the Beidou Industrial Park, at key participating enterprises, and in clusters of new quality productive forces, thereby creating a full-chain judicial service mechanism encompassing "demand collection¡ªservice delivery¡ªoutcome transformation". Simultaneously, the court compiled and released the Typical Cases of Full-Chain IP Protection and the Guidelines for IP Protection at Exhibitions (2025 Edition) at the press conference, offering clear judicial guidance for exhibitors.

At the press conference, Chen Qiang announced six typical cases of full-chain IP protection, covering civil, administrative, and criminal cases, involving crimes of IP infringement, trademark infringement, unfair competition, foreign-related trademark protection, and administrative penalties for IP violation, actively addressing pain points in IP protection for exhibitions and key industries.

For example, in a foreign-related trademark protection case, Chao's Company, having only obtained authorization for on-campus product sales, used "Le Education" as a selling point to develop over 200 franchise stores, committing the infringement for seven years. The Qingpu District People's Court ruled that the company had committed trademark infringement and applied punitive damages, ultimately ordering compensation of CNY 35 million. This case represents the highest punitive damages awarded in an IP case in Shanghai this year, and it clarified the application pathway for punitive damages¡ªevaluating subjective malice, severity of circumstances, and damages calculation.

In another trademark infringement dispute, Qingpu District People's Court broke out of the routine thinking of trials and ascertained that some individuals used AI large model technology to conduct false evidence collection: The plaintiff attempted to manufacture an illusion of infringement by conducting frequent, repetitive searches. After the court clarified the associated legal risks, Sichuan Quan's Company withdrew 400 cases, including the one at issue. This case vividly demonstrates how Qingpu District People's Court, in line with regional development trends, supports the development of new quality productive forces with high-quality justice, providing important adjudication guidance for handling IP disputes in the AI sector.

Next, Qingpu District People's Court will continuously optimize judicial services with more precise adjudication and more efficient service to support the 8th CIIE, demonstrating to the international community the strength and warmth of China's IP judicial protection.

Representative Comments

Zhou Zhenbo, Deputy to Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, Deputy Secretary of the Party Branch and Deputy Director of the Finished Goods Workshop at Shanghai Delixi Group Co., Ltd.

The Working Initiatives not only align with the practical needs of exhibitions, but also focus on the core of full-chain IP protection, fully demonstrating the precision and proactivity of Qingpu District People's Court in serving the overall situation. Particularly, by creating a "1-Kilometer Judicial Service Circle" next to the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Hongqiao Business District, where key industries are concentrated, it delivers services such as circuit courts and the "Qingpu Rule of Law Salon" right to the doorsteps of exhibitors and major corporate headquarters. It is hoped that Qingpu District People's Court will continue to deepen collaborative mechanisms such as the "Qingpu Rule of Law Salon," further strengthen linkages with industry associations and university think tanks, promote the evolution of IP protection from judicial leadership to multi-party co-governance, and better enable Shanghai to build an international IP protection highland.

Pei Yongfei, Member of the Qingpu District CPPCC Committee, Middle School Art Teaching and Research Staff at Qingpu District Institute of Education

Qingpu District People's Court demonstrates three distinctive features in IP protection: collaborative, specialized, and internationalized. The "Yangtze River Delta Demonstration Zone Full-Chain Collaborative IP Protection Center" achieves efficient integration of judicial, administrative, and industrial resources. The mechanism of "demand collection¡ªanalysis and assessment¡ªservice supply¡ªresult transformation" established by the "Judicial Observation Points for New Quality Productive Force Enterprises" closely integrates judicial protection with industrial innovation and development, providing judicial services for nurturing new quality productive forces. The one-stop dispute resolution mechanism of "litigation-mediation-arbitration" integrates various resources, smooth procedural connections, and effectively enhances the efficiency of resolving foreign-related and exhibition-related disputes. It is recommended to further expand the coverage of "Judicial Observation Points" to enable the full-chain protection mechanism to benefit more new quality productive force enterprises and continuously optimize the regional business environment.

Liu Enyuan, Director of the International Public Law Teaching and Research Office, School of International Law, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law

The typical cases released by Qingpu District People's Court this time fully demonstrate the guiding, standardizing, and guaranteeing role of IP trials in industry development. For example, a foreign-related trademark protection case among the typical cases released this time significantly enhances protection for IP rights holders compared with similar previous cases. The case adopted punitive damages as the judgment method, ordering Dr. Le's company to be compensated up to CNY 35 million for economic losses, with franchisees bearing joint and several liability ranging from over one million to several million CNY. This judgment effectively deters infringers. On one hand, it significantly raises the cost of infringement through punitive damages, making infringement unprofitable. On the other hand, given that malicious and repeated infringements are generally concealed and difficult to detect promptly, applying punitive damages also helps compensate rights holders' losses to a certain extent. This case is a typical example of strict implementation following the enforcement of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China and the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of Punitive Damages in the Trial of Civil Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement. All cases released this time possess significant typical value, providing high-quality teaching materials for universities. Looking ahead, we will continue to deepen the two-way integration of judicial cases and academic research, jointly facilitating the continuous enhancement and improvement of IP protection theory and practice.