According to information from the hebei high court, in recent days the hebei provincial high people's court has published a typical case of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in 2025, in 10 cases covering areas such as new plant varieties, trademark rights, copyright rights, patent rights, unfair competition and administrative decisions, focusing on the judicial practice of hebei courts in strengthening and service innovation-driven development。
I. Punitive damages for infringement of new plant varieties
In the qingdao case concerning a dispute between a certain subsidiary and the department of agricultural operations in tang concerning infringement of new plant varieties, the court made it clear that in the absence of sufficient evidence from the owner of the plant to prove its loss or profit from the infringer, the punitive base of compensation may be determined ex officio on the basis of the type of new plant species, the circumstances of the infringement, etc. In this case, the defendant's sale of tort seeds in white leather bags was found to be an intentional violation and a serious violation, which resulted in the application of a multiplier of punitive damages and a total of $24,000 in compensation for economic losses and reasonable expenses incurred by the right holder. This case reflects a judicial orientation to increase penalties for intentional violations。
Ii. Absorption from abuse of the right to sue in accordance with the principle of good faith
The sioux sioux sioux and a county shoe factory dispute over patent rights to skin design clearly defines the rule of “claimed interest” in disputes over patent rights to skin design. The court noted that the same tort should be considered if the products complained of were identical to the core features of the patent protection of the products in question. It is an abuse of the right to sue a person who knowingly divides the dispute that should have been resolved together. If the settlement agreement has been fully implemented in the first instance, there is no need for substantive adjudication of the right-holder's follow-up action, and the people's court shall dismiss the complaint in accordance with the law。
Iii. Legal recognition and cross-protection of trademarks
In the beijing case concerning the dispute between a meat food group company, ltd. And a company in ishikoshi, concerning the infringement of trademark rights, the court, guided by the principle of “case determination, passive protection, on an as-needed basis”, considered the time of use of the trademark, the scope of publicity, market share, etc., in a comprehensive manner, subject to the need for cross-category protection, legally considered the “big red door” trademark to be a popular trademark on meat commodities. The defendant's use of the word “big red door” in the goods on the board constituted an act of climbing the reputation of the well-known trademark market and was convicted of stopping the infringement. The case demonstrates the judicial determination to severely punish the “nominal”。
Iv. Clarifying copyright protection for software-aided works
“a dispute over copyright and violation of copyright in a box factory, an advertising company in hangzhou” clearly indicates that the use of computer software for creative purposes is a mere tool and the core of copyright protection is the creative intellectual work of human beings. The creators are protected by copyright law through works of art that reflect originality and are done with software hands. Unauthorized sale of goods substantially similar to the work of rights constitutes a violation. The case encourages the use of digital tools for creative purposes and directs market subjects to regulate the use of digital works。
V. Combating software dismantling and clarifying the applicable rules of law
“the dispute between shenzhen, a technology company, and ishijia, a company, on the violation of copyright for computer software” concerns the sale of video clipping software to crack. The court found that the defendant had violated the plaintiff's software copyright by providing, without authorization and for payment, a link to the decryption software download. This case makes it clear that the anti-improper competition law may no longer be applied to double-evaluations where the violation involves both copyright and unfair competition, and where the full protection of rights has been achieved through copyright law. In this case, the four defendants were sentenced to a total of $610,000 for economic loss and reasonable expenses。
Emphasizing the need for the creation of works in accordance with public order and social values watch
In the case of a dispute between chung and tangshan city over copyright rights and torts in a craft shop, the pre-eminence of a “value-oriented review of works” was clarified. The court held that the whole picture, which was based on the ancient wind water compass, did not belong to works in the literary, artistic and scientific fields protected by copyright law and was not conducive to the construction of socialist spiritual civilization and was therefore not protected by copyright law. The case led the creators to consciously circumvent the superstitious content and to create positive and healthy cultural products。
Denying the validity of patent agency contracts based on fictional inventions
In a case concerning a dispute with a patent agent, such as an intellectual property agent, the court found that the parties had applied for a patent on the basis of a fictional and fabricated invention, contrary to the principles of good faith and credit, to the detriment of the public interest, and that the contract of entrustment was null and void and without judicial protection. Following a judgement, the court refers a finding of violation to the competent administrative authority, which has imposed administrative penalties on the unit concerned. This case, which was coordinated by the capital, struck against an irregular patent application。
Viii. Responsibility responsibilities to promote substantive displacement of administration
The case of a dispute between an electromechanical company and an administrative decision of the market supervisory authority of a municipality is a typical case of strengthening the “incorporation” of the capital. In the course of the administrative proceedings, the court, after a preliminary examination, found that there might be problems with the administrative decision and, in order to avoid a emptiness of the proceedings, took the initiative to coordinate the administrative conciliation organized by the market supervisory authority, which led to the signing of the conciliation agreement by the parties and its implementation on the spot. Subsequently, the court, on the application of the parties, upheld the conciliation agreement and allowed the plaintiff to withdraw the complaint, efficiently resolving the dispute in substance。
“court + administration + industry” to resolve mass copyright disputes
The “conciliation of dirección direitos en direitos en direitos en diocracias” (reconciliation of diversion of copyrights between liu and several sculptural enterprises) involved 31 cases of violation in the district-specific sculpture industry. The court, relying on a pluralist settlement mechanism, invited the market regulator, the stone sculptor and the ceramic industry to participate in the mediation. Quantities of disputes have been resolved by facilitating the cessation of abuse and compensation of tort enterprises through a unified approach to casework, crowdsourced centralized interpretation, and the provision of solutions by industry associations. The departments then set up a long-term linkage mechanism to prevent disputes from the source and achieve a balance between copyright protection and industrial development。
X. “3d penetrator decomposition mechanism” to decipher the problem of mass protection of trademarks
In the 84 cases of trademark tort disputes between a technology company and 84 microretailers, the court innovatively applied the “three-dimensional penetrating resolution mechanism” in response to a series of trademark torts against small retailers: first, “acceleration of liability”, adding the producer as a third person and leading the right-holder to a package of compensation agreements with the source manufacturer; second, “proceeding penetrating”, creating a template for model mediation, which involves mass coordination in cases of the same kind; and third, “impact penetrating”, which prompts the plaintiff to withdraw most of the charges on its own initiative and promotes the seller to improve the entry review and production of disputed products. Ultimately, 12 conciliations were closed in 84 cases and 62 plaintiffs were withdrawn, resulting in efficient resolution and source governance。
