On October 26, 2018, the 6^th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13^th National People's Congress deliberated and adopted the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Several Issues Concerning Litigation Procedure of Patent and Other Intellectual Property Cases (hereinafter referred to as the Decision). On the occasion of the promulgation of the Decision, relevant leaders of the Supreme People's Court spoke with the reporters on relevant issues in an interview.

Q: Can you tell us about the background of drafting the Decision?

A: In November 2017, the first meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms of 19^th Central Committee deliberated and adopted the Opinions Concerning Several Issues on Promoting Reform and Innovation in the Field of Intellectual Property Trials, calling for “deliberation on the establishment of a trial mechanism of cases on appeal over intellectual property rights at the national level”. In February 2018, the Comprehensive Deepening Reform Commission of the CPC Central Committee listed it as a priority task of reform in 2018 to be implemented under the lead of the Supreme People's Court.

The Party Leadership Group of the Supreme People's Court attached great importance to it therefrom. President Zhou Qiang repeatedly gave instructions and demanded that the decisions and arrangements of the Central Committee should be vigorously implemented. On the basis of summarizing the judicial trial experience in respect of intellectual property cases, the Supreme People's Court, with the relevant parties, have fully demonstrated and repeatedly researched the establishment of a trial mechanism for cases on appeal over intellectual property rights at the national level, and finally opted for the reform idea of establishing the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court in Beijing to uniformly try cases on appeal over patent and other intellectual property rights throughout the country. Relevant drafts were formulated and reported to the Comprehensive Deepening Reform Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and was approved ultimately.

According to the requirements of the reform, it is necessary to make appropriate adjustments to the proceedings of appeal and retrial as provided by the Civil Procedure Law, the Administrative Litigation Law, and the Decision on the Establishment of Intellectual Property Courts in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. In order to ensure that the reform is carried out in an orderly manner, the Supreme People's Court drafted the Decision on Several Issues Concerning Litigation Procedure of Patent and Other Intellectual Property Cases (Draft) and submitted it to the 6^th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13^th National People's Congress for deliberation.

Q: What is the significance of the uniform trial by the Supreme People's Court of civil and administrative cases of appeal over patent and other intellectual property rights involving professional technologies?

A: Zhou Qiang, the President of the Supreme People's Court, pointed out when explaining the draft of the Decision to the 6^th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13^th National People's Congress that the Supreme People's Court shall uniformly try civil and administrative cases on appeal over patent, etc. involving professional technologies with an aim to promote the trial specialization, jurisdiction centralization, proceeding intensification and personnel professionalization of IP cases, and provide strong judicial services and guarantee for developing a powerful nation in terms of intellectual property as well as science and technology. Firstly, it is conducive to stimulating and protecting scientific and technological innovation; secondly, it is conducive to creating a sound business environment; thirdly, it is conducive to unifying and regulating the criteria of trial.

Q: After the implementation of the Decision, the Supreme People's Court will try more cases of appeal over patents and other intellectual property rights. How will this affect the functional positioning of the highest judicial organ?

A: The trial of cases of appeal is one of the important duties assigned to the Supreme People's Court by the Constitution and the Organic Law of the People's Courts. Patent and other intellectual property right cases involving professional technologies are crucial to the overall domestic situation and international situation and are of great significance to the developing of a powerful intellectual property country and a powerful country in science and technology worldwide. The uniform trial by the Supreme People's Court is instrumental in further unifying the criteria of case trial and judgment and enhancing the judicial protection of intellectual property rights. The cases on appeal over invention patents and utility model patents as previously tried by the high people's courts are now uniformly tried by the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court and this centralization is only a minor adjustment made to the level of the second-instance courts in terms of a small number of cases on appeal over patents, etc.. The functional positioning of the Supreme People's Court, the two-tier trial system, and the organization system of courts still remain the same.

（The English Version is for reference only. In case of discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.）