Intellectual Property Infringement China: New Judicial Interpretation
Intellectual Property Infringement continues to be a key focus of legislative and judicial reform in China. Recent interpretations issued jointly by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) provide clearer guidance on how IP infringement cases are to be assessed and prosecuted. The experts at Shanghai K-Insight Law Firm have prepared this overview to highlight the key developments.
The “Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement” (hereinafter referred to as the “2025 Interpretation“) came into effect on 26 April 2025.
In the Chinese legal system, judicial interpretations issued by the SPC and the SPP have legal binding force. The 2025 Interpretation replaces the interpretations issued by the SPC and the SPP in 2004, 2007 and 2020 regarding intellectual property disputes, as well as related replies issued by the SPC and the SPP in 2005.
As a result, the 2025 Interpretation unifies the judicial interpretations of the SPC and the SPP on intellectual property crimes, providing the primary legal basis for Chinese judicial authorities to identify intellectual property crimes for an extended period.
The background to the 2025 Interpretation
Intellectual property protection is currently a key focus of the Chinese government. Between 2013 and 2024, over 69,100 criminal cases involving intellectual property infringement were prosecuted.
Given that the phenomenon of frequent and widespread infringement in the field of intellectual property still exists to some extent, and that criminal acts are characterized by novelty, complexity and high technology, the Eleventh Amendment to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, which was implemented on 1 March 2021, introduced significant amendments to crimes involving intellectual property infringement. New judicial interpretations are required to regulate the handling of criminal cases, guide judicial practice and ensure consistency in the application of the law.
The main content of the 2025 Interpretation consists of 31 articles and covers the five areas below:
- Trademark crimes.
- Crimes of patent counterfeiting.
- Copyright-related crimes.
- Crimes involving trade secrets.
- Common issues related to intellectual property crimes.
Meanwhile, the SPC and the SPP have jointly released typical cases on the criminal protection of intellectual property rights, which involve common disputes over the practical application of the law. The release of these typical cases will assist courts at all levels, and in all regions, to correctly apply the relevant provisions of the 2025 Interpretation.
As the 2025 Interpretation covers a wide scope with many complexities, we will try to share more details on specific areas separately soon.
