Newsletter
PRACTICE OF THE IP COURT
The Intellectual Property Court began operation on 1 July 2008. According to newspaper reports, in July the Court accepted 97 cases, comprising 48 administrative suits, 25 criminal suits, 19 first-instance civil suits, and five second-instance civil suits. A spokesperson of the IP Court stated that the above breakdown of cases may reflect the following factors:
Cases that may be handled by the IP Court include appeals brought by persons dissatisfied with the outcome of an administrative appeal or with the first-instance trial verdict in a criminal prosecution. In such cases, an appeal must be filed within two months after an administrative appeal decision, or within 10 days after a criminal judgment. Thus, there is a time factor involved, and after the IP Court has been in operation for a longer time period, the number of such cases can be expected to increase markedly.
Civil suits that may be heard by the IP Court include both first- and second-instance proceedings. Parties to first-instance litigation can decide for themselves when to file litigation, and some parties may still be watching the operation of the new system before deciding whether to file litigation with the IP Court.