BEIJING -- Beijing Intellectual Property (IP) Court accepted 702 cases involving medical patents and concluded 447 cases from its establishment in 2014 to February this year, according to the court.

Of 251 cases related to chemical patents, 172 involved foreign parties including Pfizer and other well-known pharmaceutical companies, the court said.

China is an important pharmaceutical market in the world, where global pharmaceutical enterprises compete with each other in allocating resources and exploiting the market, among others, said Song Yushui, deputy head of the court.

Song added the patent system is crucial to stimulate the impetus of pharmaceutical innovation. Medical inventors should be encouraged to obtain patent protection and earnings of research and development by disclosing their technical solutions, while they should also be prevented from abusing the patent system to form market monopolies and raise drug prices, according to Song.