Zhang Jun, chief justice and president of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of China, met with a delegation from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) headed by its director general Daren Tang on April 25 in Beijing.

Zhang Jun, chief justice and president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China, meets with a delegation from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) headed by its director general Daren Tang in Beijing, on April 25, 2023. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

Zhang extended warm welcome to the delegation and expressed his appreciation to the WIPO for its long term support for China's judicial protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). Noting that Tang is the first international organization leader to visit China's SPC since the country's two sessions this year, Zhang said that he was very pleased to receive Tang's visit on the occasion of the 23rd World Intellectual Property Day, which falls on April 26, 2023.

He gave a brief introduction of China's progress in judicial protection of IPR. China has always attached great importance to IPR protection and Chinese courts have continued to deepen exchanges and cooperation with the WIPO over the years, especially with the WIPO's arbitration and mediation center in the area of diversified dispute resolution, where fruitful results have been achieved, according to Zhang. China has achieved new progress in IPR protection, where the quality and efficiency of IP-related trials have been continuously enhanced, the specialized trial system of IP cases further improved, and an overall pattern of IPR protection basically established, he said.

Facing new challenges to IPR protection brought about by technological development, Chinese courts are actively promoting the reform of the "three-in-one" mechanism in the trial of civil, administrative and criminal IP cases, exploring and improving the IP litigation system, and reinforcing source governance in the trial of IP cases, in a bid to build China into an IP powerhouse, Zhang said, pledging to further strengthen ties with the WIPO to jointly promote the development of a fairer and just global IP governance system.

Tang extended his appreciation for the meeting. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of cooperation between the WIPO and China, he said China's progress in IPR protection over the past five decades is of historic significance. He acknowledged Chinese courts' efforts in exploring resolution mechanisms and reformative measures for IP-related disputes, and pledged to continue to support China's IP protection work, further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China's SPC, and also share China's experience with more countries to promote the more thorough and effective development of IPR protection.

Zhang Jun and Daren Tang sign a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation between China and the WIPO on April 25, 2023. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

At the end of the meeting, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation.