On February 28, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released seven Guiding Cases under the theme of "Strengthening Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property for Scientific and Technological Innovation." These cases serve as authoritative guidance for courts at all levels in adjudicating new, difficult, and complex intellectual property (IP) disputes, thereby reinforcing judicial safeguards for scientific and technological innovation.

    The released cases cover multiple fields, including infringement of new plant varieties, infringement of invention and utility model patents, misappropriation of technical secrets, infringement of computer software copyright, and bad-faith litigation. In one particular case involving the misappropriation of technical secrets triggered by the mass resignation of technical personnel within a short period, the court clarified the following rule: where an alleged infringer recruits talent from another enterprise to establish channels or opportunities for obtaining that enterprise’s technical secrets, and subsequently produces products related to those secrets within a timeframe significantly shorter than what would reasonably be required for independent research and development, it may be presumed that the alleged infringer has committed an act of misappropriating technical secrets.

    Furthermore, this batch of cases clarifies the rules for assuming civil liability in "offer for sale" infringement acts, the determination of the nature of "organized sales activities" in the seed distribution sector, and the methodology for patent infringement determination when objective obstacles exist in obtaining or dismantling the physical infringing products.

    According to reports, from 2021 to 2025, courts at all levels nationwide concluded over 2.5 million first-instance IP cases of various types, an increase of 64.44% compared to the previous five-year period. Disputes involving high-tech and frontier technology sectors continue to rise, the proportion of cases involving original innovation is steadily increasing, and the trend of diversification among dispute subjects has become evident.

    Source: CCTV.com