At the china fair on international trade in services held in september 2022, the judicial services workstation of the beijing intellectual property court attracted a large presence. Judges delivered keynote addresses at the professional forum of the world trade organization on the topics of geographical marker protection and brand development, competition regulation in the market under the digital economy, and protection of the graphical user interface. The judges also went into the multinational exhibition area and conducted on-site exchanges with foreign exhibitors on such issues as appearance design of national priorities, international extension protection of trademarks and standards for cross-border movement of data。
Justice liu shinlee of the beijing court of intellectual property said that, in the eight years of its establishment, a similar situation had not been uncommon, and it was common practice for judges to share and speak in fluent foreign languages in international events, forums and conferences outside the courts。
The natural “internationalization” of intellectual property rights, with the beijing intellectual property court accounting for almost 20 per cent of foreign cases, seems to the judges that the fairness and persuasiveness of the decisions in each case are in fact the basis for our country to gain more voice and initiative in the international arena in the field of intellectual property. The beijing intellectual property court has become one of the important windows for the international community's observation of china's judicial protection of intellectual property in the light of the innumerable light。
Liu shinle, judge, beijing intellectual property court. Interviewee for map
20 per cent of foreign-related cases in the international court of justice
New kyoto: 20 per cent of foreign-related cases is a significant proportion, and which types of cases are foreign-related? Why is it so high
Liu xinle: our house is a national court that has exclusive jurisdiction over administrative cases such as patents, trademarks and so forth, i. E. Administrative cases of this kind, in which the national intellectual property authority is the defendant。
A foreign case means that at least one of the parties in the case is a foreign subject. In approximately 4 per cent of foreign civil cases, both parties are foreign subjects, and their disputes arise in china, and they may choose to take action in our courts. Since its establishment, we have received over 20,000 cases involving foreign nationals, and more than 100 countries and territories are currently covered。
Foreign-related cases in the beijing intellectual property court are not limited to certain types, but there are some types of cases in which the “foreign-related” proportion is high, such as standard necessary patent cases, drug patent-link cases and patents, competition cases involving areas of global high technology。
Njp: in addition to the cases before it, what are the aspects that make the informed courts “internationalized”
Liu xinle: “internationalization” is rooted in intellectual property law, which is itself international in character. Before and after joining wto in 2001, china amended its laws and regulations, judicial interpretations, etc. Relating to intellectual property so as to bring our domestic laws into line with the spirit of legislation, standards of protection and remedies and with the rules prevailing internationally for the protection of intellectual property. These include treaties of international intellectual property conventions, such as trips, which also constitute an important source of law for us. Some of our legal rules on intellectual property are also based on internationally applicable rules on intellectual property protection and are progressively refined by the advanced rule of law abroad。
That is why the beijing intellectual property court was created in 2014 with wide international attention, and we have our own expectations or responsibilities to make it a window for overseas observation of china’s intellectual property judicial protection。
Liu xinle is working. Interviewee for map
"window" for overseas observation of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in china
The new kyoto newspaper: how does the term “window” be understood
Liu xinle: starting with the establishment of the institute, the beijing intellectual property court has received a large number of visitors from ngos, research institutions and universities from abroad. Basically, every few weeks, a group of foreign friends come to the courtyard to attend cases or to talk, and there are many foreign meetings, forums inviting our judges to deliver keynote speeches, to report and to share some of the new developments in the judicial protection of our country。
New kyoto: what do you think is a “window” role
Liu xinle: the international trademark association, for example, has always been concerned about our trials in the field of trademarks and about the attitude of our countries with regard to the protection of trademark rights, in particular the regulation of malicious registration of trademarks. This year, the beijing court of intellectual property rights and the international trademark association held bilateral meetings to exchange views on the issue of trademark protection, the first time since its establishment, with our local courts. The level of intellectual property protection at the beijing intellectual property court was highly commended by the president of inta (international trademark association). The international community is aware of the increasing importance that china attaches to the protection of intellectual property rights and the increased capacity for judicial protection of intellectual property rights。
With the concerted efforts of all, the beijing intellectual property court has continued to enhance its judicial capacity for the equal protection of intellectual property rights of central and foreign subjects, making a chinese voice in global intellectual property governance and contributing to china's judicial wisdom。
The new kyoto newspaper: how can you yourselves learn more proactively about the outside world
Liu xinle: learning is mutual, and while we are exporting, we continue to “input” information from abroad. Intellectual property jurisdictions need to have an international perspective, recognizing that intellectual property cases involve more than simple domestic law application or adjustment, and that the outcome of the decisions and the rules that have been established are relevant to international dynamics. This does not allow our work to focus only on the present “triple acre” and, more importantly, on information in the field of intellectual property rights abroad, facing similar problems, especially at the forefront, to see if there are any new developments, new directions and lessons for foreign justice。
At work for liu xinle. Interviewee for map
The progress of justice has brought real benefits to the people
New kyoto: what do you think is the biggest difficulty at work
Liu xinle: foreign languages are now an important tool in our work, looking for information from abroad, looking at literature, international exchanges, participation in foreign forums and so on. The strength of the beijing intellectual property court lies in the rejuvenation of the judiciary, the generally high level of education and the ability to speak foreign languages. In addition to their own use, more than 40 young people have formed an association called the “translator service” to translate foreign materials to facilitate school-wide learning, while they have translated new initiatives and typical cases from the beijing intellectual property court into foreign languages for dissemination abroad. In addition to english, there are members of translation agencies who have knowledge of japanese, german and french. There was a consensus among the judges of the beijing court of intellectual property rights that foreign language learning must not be interrupted。
Moreover, developments in intellectual property cases are closely linked to socio-economic development, for example, the fact that 5g technologies in the field of communications have not been developed for long enough to be used in a mature manner, and that technology is constantly being modernized, is a challenge already covered by the cases before the beijing intellectual property court. As a result, judges and judges ' assistants are largely required to learn some of the technical aspects of the complex front-line cases, so that they can sit in the middle after hearing each other's views. If the technical facts are so difficult and complex, the beijing court of intellectual property has a technical investigator to help the judge identify them。
Moreover, the beijing intellectual property court has explored the construction of a system of intellectual property justice think tanks. The first 14 academic experts of the beijing intellectual property court's committee of experts on the protection of innovations came from the chinese academy of sciences and engineering, which is the highest academic institution in the country's science, technology and engineering. The research is directed at a wide range of frontier areas, including life and health, information technology and mechanical engineering. It has evolved into a full-fledged technical fact-finding mechanism, supported by the academy's navigators, experts, technical investigators, and multi-faceted participation. This has enabled judges to understand more accurately the specific technical programmes, technology generation and protection patterns of cases, capture industrial development policies and national strategic needs, and gain insight into the deployment of science, technology and innovation institutional reforms and global science and technology governance rules。
In short, new types of cases have emerged as a result of the rapid evolution of new technologies, new business patterns and new competitive behaviour in the market economy, and i have worked in intellectual property trials for 10 years. At least 50 per cent of my work has been different from what i had in the case of intellectual property。
New kyote: why do we have to work so hard on technology
Liu xinle: our judges must be able to stand the test of the person in question and the international test. Let us also have an internationally recognized and accepted rule of adjudication through a correct and fair decision, so that we can speak and take the initiative in the international arena of intellectual property protection。
Nj: what do you think it means to have the right to speak and the right to take the initiative
Liu xinle: take an example. On 1 june 2021, the new patent law added article 76, formally establishing china's “drug patent link system”. Subsequently, the supreme people's court issued an accompanying judicial interpretation designating the beijing intellectual property court to be competent in such cases. I had the privilege of participating in the first cases of drug patent links in our country. The high cost of research and development of innovative medicines, the higher cost of medicines, and the lower cost of research and development of innovative medicines by generic drug companies have led to a significant reduction in the price of generic drugs. But failure by generic companies to avoid patenting innovative medicines undermines the commercial benefits of innovative medicines and discourages long-term research and development. In order for both the original and the generic companies to come to the beijing intellectual property court to resolve possible patent infringement problems ahead of the entry of the generic drug market, the people's court must decide in accordance with the law that, while strictly protecting the intellectual property rights of the original drug company, it is necessary to recognize the risks of listing in advance for the pharmaceutical enterprise, avoid blind listing leading to high litigation and promote the development of the generic drug quality。
A fair and credible trial is intended to maximize the availability of medicines and protect the lives and well-being of the population by showing the attitude of the beijing intellectual property court and providing normative guidance to businesses at home and abroad。
While the trials in such cases are complex in themselves and require a great deal of work to fill the knowledge-blind areas of the past, at the same time i feel excited and honoured that, through our efforts, fair and efficient justice not only protects and stimulates innovation, but also effectively guarantees the health and well-being of the public。
