In 2012, courts in Suzhou, a city in Jiangsu province, concluded a total of 1,696 IP cases, up 49.3%, according to information released in a conference of Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court on January 9th.

Moreover, grassroots courts in the city which have gained jurisdiction over IP matters increased to seven, ranking the second among large-scale and medium-sized cities across China in quantity and intensity.

In a bid to enforce effective intellectual property protection, courts in the city took several measures to improve the trial system, such as hiring experts as jurors to provide intellectual support. Meanwhile, the city took full advantage of China (Suzhou) Intellectual Property Judicial Protection Research Base to conduct further investigation on the protection of technological creations in new emerging industries. Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court also released a white paper on the status quo of intellectual property judicial protection in the city and a collection of cases lodged by local enterprises in safeguarding their IP rights.

Last year, courts in the city concluded a total of 12,781 criminal cases of first instance and sentenced 16,967 lawbreakers, up 18.6% and 12% respectively.

(Source:IPR in China)