On April 25, the High People’s Court of Fujian Province held a press conference on the status of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in Fujian’s courts and released the top ten cases of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in Fujian’s courts in 2021.

It was revealed at the conference that in 2021, the courts in the province received a total of 21,270 cases of various types of intellectual property rights and concluded 19,088 cases, representing year-on-year increases of 46.12% and 42.46% respectively. Analysis of the trial of intellectual property rights related cases in recent years show four distinctive features. First, the number of cases rises drastically. The number of IPR cases received in the province exceeded 20,000, double that of 2017. Secondly, the number of foreign-related cases increases significantly. Some foreign IP rights holders chose to sue in Fujian through jurisdictional connection points, and foreign-related IPR trials gradually became a new calling card for Fujian to open up wider to the outside world and optimize the business environment. Third, new types of difficult and complex cases emerge continuously. The number of cases involving new technologies and business forms was on the rise, making the determination of technical facts and application of law more difficult. Fourthly, the quality and efficiency of trials are steadily improved. The average trial period for first-instance civil IPR cases was 67 days, a reduction of 20 days year on year.