Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), has emphasized for promoting the high-quality development of intellectual property rights (IPR) adjudication to bolster national strength.

Zhang made the remarks on Feb 21 when addressing the 28th bi-weekly consultation session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which focuses on "strengthening IPR law enforcement and judicial protection to promote the development of new quality productive forces".

Zhang presented a report on the current situation of IPR judicial protection during the session, and engaged in discussions with CPPCC members on further promoting the high-quality development of IPR adjudication to better serve the development of new quality productive forces.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, people's courts nationwide have fully utilized their functions in IPR adjudication to actively serve innovation-driven development, playing a positive role in encouraging innovation, maintaining fair competition, promoting cultural prosperity, and supporting opening-up to the outside world.

Zhang emphasized the need to address new challenges in IPR adjudication, especially in response to emerging disputes arising from new industries, new models and new momentum driven by technological innovation. He highlighted the importance of resolving individual cases and improving judicial rules to provide clear, stable, and predictable guidelines for innovators.

He identified systemic problems affecting the quality and efficiency of IPR adjudication. Issues such as difficulties in determining technical facts, timely cessation of infringement, and overly complex dispute resolution procedures need to be addressed by improving relevant systems and mechanisms to boost the effectiveness of IPR adjudication, he said.

Zhang stressed the necessity of strengthening the professional practice of IPR adjudication in line with the rapid development of technological innovation, saying that efforts should be made to enhance China's capacity to participate in international IPR governance.

Coordinated efforts should be made to promote both domestic and foreign-related rule of law to allow IPR adjudication to play a greater role in upholding fairness and justice as well as safeguarding judicial sovereignty and national interests, he said.

During the meeting, some CPPCC members suggested enhancing legal and policy research in the field of data IPR, strengthening the connection between law enforcement and judicial practice in IPR protection, reinforcing foreign-related IPR protection, and establishing a diversified IPR dispute resolution mechanism.

Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the SPC, attended the meeting and responded to questions raised during the discussions, outlining the measures taken in IPR adjudication, the challenges and steps to be taken in the future.