Editing Intellectual property in China (section)

==Implementation==
More than 30 government ministries are involved in domestic IP governance.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=26}} To enforce IPR protection, an administrative system has been established within the government. After the reshuffle of the State Council in March 1998, the Patent Office became part of the [[State Intellectual Property Office]] (SIPO). In 2011, SIPO became the world's largest patent office.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=4}} SIPO developed its own Traditional Chinese Medicine Patent database compiling patents granted for [[traditional Chinese medicine]]s.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=214}} In September 2018, SIPO was renamed the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=213}}

The Trademarks Office is still under the authority of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The Copyright Office falls within the State Administration for Press and Publication. A similar system exists at various levels of local government. Commonly, enforcement of IPRs will be carried out by local IPRs personnel, assisted by police from the local Public Security Bureau.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

China's IP regulators and policy-makers generally maintain close contact with their peers from developed countries and in international institutions.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=26}}

In addition to government bodies, non-state actors are also involved in China's engagement on IP issues.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=26}}

=== Policy approach ===
China released its ''National IP Strategy'' in 2008.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=4}} Since 2012, China frames intellectual property as an important part of its strategy of driving development through innovation.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=4}} In 2013, China issued its ''Action Plan on Further Implementing the National IP Strategy'' (2014–2020).<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=21}} It sets numerical targets for patent applications, trademark registrations, and copyright registrations.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=22}} In 2015, China described its IP as an important mechanism for stimulating innovation, increasing China's technological competitiveness, and facilitating development.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=22}} Influenced by these policies, China in 2019 became the largest user of the WIPO's [[Patent Cooperation Treaty]].<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=22}}

Since the 2010s, continuing through at least 2023, China has been active in negotiating IP rules in regional trade agreements like [[Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership|RCEP]], bilateral agreements, and the [[Belt and Road Initiative]].<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=4}} In conjunction with the BRI, China does not attempt to impose IP standards on participating countries.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=242}} It works with WIPO to implement training and events design to increase the IP governing capacity of BRI countries.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=242}} In 2016, WIPO initiated the High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property for BRI Countries, where WIPO Director General [[Francis Gurry]] encouraged participating countries to use WIPO tools like its global IP services and databases and to join WIPO-administered IP treaties.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=187}}

=== Courts and tribunals ===
In the 1980s, Chinese courts and regulators began to enforce intellectual property protections on the basis international treaties China had signed before corresponding domestic IP laws were yet in place.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=216}}

The number of IP cases prosecuted criminally in Chinese courts has been on a significant upward trend from 2005 to 2015,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bao |first=Yingyu |date=2018 |title=Statistics and Characteristics Analysis of China's Intellectual Property Crimes |url=https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/abs/2018/87/matecconf_cas2018_05013/matecconf_cas2018_05013.html |journal=MATEC Web of Conferences |language=en |volume=228 |pages=05013 |doi=10.1051/matecconf/201822805013 |issn=2261-236X |doi-access=free}}</ref> suggesting tougher enforcement of IP laws.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=169}}

In patent litigation, infringement and invalidation claims generally proceed separately rather than being addressed at the same trial.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|page=140}} Foreign firms have been increasingly successful in litigating patent infringement suits in China, winning approximately 70% of the time in the period 2006 to 2011, and rising to approximately 80% in the late 2010s.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|pages=169–170}}

Since 2008, filings for patent and trademark protection by both Chinese and national firms have skyrocketed, leading to increased government focus on IP protection, including establishing specialized intellectual property courts to more effectively resolve disputes.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=169}}

In October 2014, the [[Supreme People's Court]] provided additional regulatory guidance on specialized intellectual property court jurisdiction.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.chinacourt.org/law/detail/2014/10/id/147980.shtml|title=Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on the Jurisdiction of Intellectual Property Courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou|last=Supreme People's Court|date=October 31, 2014|access-date=April 13, 2020}}</ref> The specialized IP courts sit at the intermediate court level and have first instance jurisdiction over all technically complex civil and administrative IP cases (including patents, new plant varieties, integrated circuit layout designs, trade secrets, and computer software). They also have first instance jurisdiction over well-known trademarks and deal with all other IP cases upon appeal from the basic people's courts in their province.86 In terms of administrative law, the [[Beijing Intellectual Property Court]] also has special, first-instance jurisdiction over administrative appeals brought against decisions issued by administrative IP adjudication bodies.<ref name=":0" /> Since 2017, the system has expanded to include 20 specialized IP tribunals across the country.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Weightman|first=William|date=2020-01-01|title=Is the Emperor Still Far Away? Centralization, Professionalization, and Uniformity in China's Intellectual Property Reforms, 19 UIC Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 145 (2020)|url=https://repository.jmls.edu/ripl/vol19/iss2/3|journal=The John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law|volume=19|issue=2|issn=1930-8140}}</ref> Although these tribunals are administratively a part of the intermediate people's court in their city, they have cross-regional and exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over IP cases—similar to the IP courts established in 2014.<ref name=":1" />

In 2019, the city of [[Hangzhou]] established a pilot program artificial intelligence-based Internet Court to adjudicate internet-related intellectual property claims as well as ecommerce disputes.<ref name=":9222">{{Cite book |last=Šimalčík |first=Matej |title=Contemporary China: a New Superpower? |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-03-239508-1 |editor-last=Kironska |editor-first=Kristina |chapter=Rule by Law |pages=114–127 |doi=10.4324/9781003350064-12 |editor-last2=Turscanyi |editor-first2=Richard Q.}}</ref>{{Rp|page=124}} Parties appear before the court via videoconference and AI evaluates the evidence presented and applies relevant legal standards.<ref name=":9222" />{{Rp|page=124}}

===Difficulties===
Sometimes local protectionism may dilute the strength of central legislation or the power of law enforcement. For example, local governments might not want to genuinely support the work of copyright protection supervisors. It may create obstacles during IPRs investigation and assist local counterfeiters by letting them hide their production lines in safer places. When counterfeiters have good connections with local governmental or law enforcement officials, they may find an umbrella for their counterfeiting activity.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Priest|first=Eric|title=The Future of Music and Film Piracy in China|journal=Berkeley Technology Law Journal|year=2006|volume=21|series=795|pages=796–870|url=http://btlj.org/data/articles2015/vol21/21_2/21-berkeley-tech-l-j-0795-0872.pdf}}</ref>

Chinese government-sponsored search-engine [[Baidu]] provides links to third-party websites that offer online counterfeit products as well as access to counterfeit hardware and merchandise. The Chinese government dominates 70% of its country's search engine revenue and has been called on by US officials to limit the activity of online counterfeiting groups.<ref>{{cite news |date=31 January 2011 |title=China Baidu search engine profits more than treble |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12331266 |access-date=2011-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=1 March 2011 |title=US says China's Baidu is notorious pirated goods market |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12605067 |access-date=2011-04-25}}</ref>