【Comments: The move （i.e., special tribunals will be set up to handle IPR disputes） will see complex cases relating to civil, administrative and criminal matters dealt with by a “unified” tribunal within a court, rather than spread across different ones which was repetitious, wasted procedural costs and compromised judicial efficiency. Pilot schemes for special tribunals have been running since the mid-1990s, including one high court, nine intermediate courts and 14 district courts, with the Pudong District Court in Shanghai the first in 1995.】
3. To further study the feasibility and necessity of establishing IPR appeals courts, make more effort to effectively streamline the procedure for affirming the IPR and the litigation procedure on infringement, simplify judicial remedy procedure and enhance the efficiency in making decision and judgment.
【Comment: Some disputes, especially the affirmation of patents and trademarks, feature highly specialized and sometimes international elements that are often too challenging for local courts to handle. An appellate court will unify standards in judicial practice, particularly patent infringements and the granting of trademark rights. It will also help save costs for small and medium-sized enterprises in maintaining IPR, particularly given the global financial crisis has made infringements more complex, with some enterprises being forced to cut budgets for IPR protection. Now Beijing No.1 Intermediate Court is the sole competent court to hear patent and trademark affirmation cases and we tend to believe that such appellate court would very likely be established in Beijing by CPC. The possibility of an IPR appeals court and the ability to consolidate multi-jurisdictional cases is great news for foreign right holders to enforce their IPR with less costs and time.】
4. To strictly interpreting patent claims, fully respect the publicity and delimitation functions of claims, properly handle the relationship between equivalent infringement and literal infringement, rationally identify the applicable scope of equivalent infringement, and prevent overuse of equivalent infringement.
