Top court acts to prevent IPR breaches

CHINA’S Supreme People’s Court yesterday issued a judicial explanation to help courts more promptly stop infringement of intellectual property rights.

The legal document aims to clarify when IPR owners can apply for quick court orders to stop infringement of their rights without a lawsuit or before a lawsuit is closed, according to the SPC.

The document defined such situations as “emergencies.” For instance, an IPR owner’s confidential business information is about to be illegally published or one’s privacy rights are about to be violated and, without an immediate court order to stop the infringement, damage will be caused.

“Unlike property rights, IPR is hard to fully recover if violated.

“Even if the owner has won a lawsuit, his or her confidential information would have already been released and market advantage may have been lost,” said Song Xiaoming, chief of the SPC IPR court.

A court order to stop infringements through an easier and speedier application procedure will help protect IPR and minimize damage, Song said.

To prevent the abuse of court orders, the judicial explanation defined elements that should be taken into account when reviewing such applications and how to define wrong applications and withdraw orders.