On April 26, the Shanghai High Court released the 2021 white paper on intellectual property trial of Shanghai court (hereinafter referred to as the “white paper”), which showed that in 2021, the Shanghai court accepted 53279 cases of all kinds of intellectual property and concluded 49100 cases, with a year-on-year increase of 32.49% and 30.88% respectively, and the number of cases received increased significantly.
According to the white paper, the Shanghai court accepted 52110 intellectual property cases of first instance and concluded 48106 cases in 2021, with a year-on-year increase of 32.39% and 31.11% respectively. Among them, 51122 intellectual property civil cases of first instance were accepted and 47035 were concluded, with a year-on-year increase of 31.83% and 29.92% respectively; 979 criminal cases of intellectual property rights in the first instance were accepted and 1064 cases were concluded, with a year-on-year increase of 51.55% and 93.10% respectively; Nine intellectual property administrative cases of first instance were accepted, an increase of 6 over the same period of last year, and 7 were concluded, which was basically the same as that of last year.
In addition, the number of trademark disputes, patent disputes and unfair competition disputes in the first instance increased significantly, and the growth rate of copyright disputes and franchise contract disputes slowed down. The number of large-scale cases continued to increase significantly, and the number of cases with a target amount of 1-10 million yuan increased by 42.27% year-on-year; Cases with a target amount of more than 10 million yuan increased by 61.7% year-on-year.
In the face of the increasing number of cases received and the new problems and situations arising from the situation of epidemic prevention and control, the Shanghai court overcame difficulties, worked hard to complete various trial tasks, and maintained good trial quality and efficiency. The rate of interest litigation in the first instance was 96.93%; The closing rate within the trial limit was 99.59%, basically the same as that of the previous year.
In a number of intellectual property cases heard by the Shanghai court, many have attracted the attention of the industry and society. For example, the monopoly dispute case between Jinxin and apple involves the determination of whether the defendant has abused the market dominant position of tying and unfair high price monopoly. Another example is the dispute case of trademark infringement and unfair competition between Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Zhongyin Food Co., Ltd., which involves the identification of “Tesla” well-known trademark.
Among them, a number of difficult, complex and new types of cases have also become the focus of attention of all sectors of society. For example, the dispute over infringement of trademark rights and unfair competition between Fendi Co., Ltd., Shanghai Yilang International Trade Co., Ltd. and shouchuang outlets (Kunshan) Commercial Development Co., Ltd. clarified the identification rules of fair use of trademarks.
Another example is the dispute over infringement of design patent between Suzhou dajiaying Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Shanghai zecao Network Technology Co., Ltd., and the dispute over infringement of design patent between Beijing Jinshan Security Software Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Mengjia Network Technology Co., Ltd., as well as with Shanghai touch Bao Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Shanghai touch Music Information Technology Co., Ltd, It involves new problems such as the identification of design patent infringement of mobile phone graphical user interface.
In 2021, Shanghai courts achieved remarkable results in intellectual property protection. Punitive damages shall be applied in accordance with the law and damages shall be strengthened. In the dispute over infringement of invention patent rights between Danisco company and Yueyang Ruikang Biotechnology Co., Ltd., the Shanghai court made the first punitive compensation for patent infringement, and awarded 11 million yuan according to the evidence on the case.
The white paper points out that the Shanghai court has strengthened the punishment of criminal acts of infringement of intellectual property rights and concluded a number of major intellectual property criminal cases. In a series of cases involving the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks of Chanel, Gucci and other luxury clothing, the defendant committed a crime amounting to more than 43 million yuan. The court sentenced 50 defendants to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from five years and nine months to three months a year, with a total fine of more than 22 million yuan. In a series of cases involving the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks of Cartier jewelry, the defendant committed a crime amounting to more than 61 million yuan. The court sentenced 21 defendants to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from five years, nine months to eight months and a fine.
