The SPC releases the "Opinions of the SPC on Providing High-Quality Judicial Services to Safeguard Scientific and Technological Innovation" and related typical cases

On January 6, 2025, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) released the "Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Providing High-Quality Judicial Services to Safeguard Scientific and Technological Innovation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") and related typical cases. SPC Vice President Tao Kaiyuan, Chief Judge of the Third Civil Division Li Jian, and Deputy Chief Judge of the Intellectual Property Court He Zhonglin attended the press conference to answer questions from reporters.

The "Opinions" addresses prominent issues in trials involving scientific and technological innovation, outlining 25 actionable policy measures across six areas: overall requirements, legal enhancement of the protection of scientific and technological achievements, protection of innovation entities, protection of innovative activities, construction of a legal and international market environment for scientific and technological innovation, and the development of judicial protection systems and mechanisms. These measures comprehensively cover criminal, civil, and administrative adjudication fields, providing clear requirements from multiple dimensions, including judicial policies, adjudication rules, systems and mechanisms, and team building.

One section emphasizes legally enhancing the protection of innovative activities and resolutely combating various infringements. Aligning with the 20th Central Committee's Third Plenary Session's directive to "strengthen the protection of property rights through law enforcement and the judiciary," this section includes three articles with 17 specific measures. It highlights the effective use of preservation measures and preliminary injunctions to ensure timely protection of innovations, increasing the application of punitive damages to impose greater penalties on infringers, and combating actions that hinder innovation, such as false litigation, malicious litigation, abuse of rights, and scientific misconduct, to foster a clean and upright research environment.

Another section clarifies the guiding ideology, basic principles, and overall goals for providing high-quality judicial services to safeguard scientific and technological innovation. The "Opinions" calls for deepening the reform of the judicial system to stimulate innovative vitality, promoting high-level scientific and technological progress through fair and efficient adjudication. The goal is to achieve a more mature judicial protection system for scientific and technological innovation and enhance the judiciary's role in promoting scientific progress and social development, thereby providing stronger judicial services and guarantees for scientific and technological innovation.

A third section calls for strengthening judicial protection of scientific and technological achievements to facilitate the development of new productive forces tailored to local conditions. In line with the 20th Central Committee's Third Plenary Session's requirement to "improve mechanisms for developing new productive forces tailored to local conditions," this section includes six articles with 28 specific measures. These measures encompass implementing judicial policies that ensure the intensity of protection aligns with the degree of innovation, improving standards for examining patent authorization and confirmation in administrative litigation and proposing judicial protection rules for technological achievements in areas such as industrial design, the digital economy, trade secrets, and key fields.

A fourth section focuses on legally strengthening the judicial protection of innovation entities to stimulate societal innovation and creativity fully. This section comprises five articles with 19 specific measures, outlining adjudication rules for determining the ownership of scientific and technological achievements, resolving technical contract disputes, optimizing innovation entities' operational mechanisms, and protecting scientific personnel's reasonable mobility and performance, among other aspects.

Additionally, the "Opinions" provide specific measures to implement the 20th Central Committee's Third Plenary Session's requirements to "build a high-level socialist market economic system" and "improve fair law enforcement and judicial mechanisms."

For more detailed information, please refer to the official announcement on the Supreme People's Court Intellectual Property Court's website.

https://ipc.court.gov.cn/zh-cn/news/view-3828.html

creatorip,China

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