"The spirit of the opinion is clearly saying that we have to take further steps to punish repeat infringers and those infringing for commercial gain," according to Luke Minford, head of China operations for Rouse.
The Guidelines set out a series of goals for how to implement China's National IP Strategy - a roadmap designed to ensure that China becomes one of the world's most innovative countries by 2020 - which was published in June last year.
According to a translation provided by Rouse, paragraph 25 of the guidelines states that the Court will "study and design a special IP rights judicial court for accepting civil, administrative and criminal cases".
Such unified courts have already been trialled in different parts of China, such as in Pudong District People's Court in Shanghai, which established such a court in 1995.
"The Supreme Court is now sending a message to everyone that it is rolling it out at intermediate level," Minford told Managing IP.
Other sections of the guidelines commit the Court to improving IP enforcement for brand owners. Paragraph five states that "emphasis should be placed on the role of damages in infringement sanctions" and that the Court should ensure that the risk of re-infringement should be eliminated.
In paragraph 10 the Court adds that lower courts should "impose severe sanctions on trade mark counterfeiting, malicious copying and other infringement acts".
Minford said that this sends a welcome message "in the context of some pretty mixed messages about how China is going to tread over the coming year".
Richard Gould, an investigator for business investigation firm CBI Consulting, agreed, stating: "In the Guangdong area, criminal enforcement of trade mark infringement is actually getting more difficult."
At the beginning of this year the Guangdong provincial government issued an opinion that warns prosecutors and authorities involved in investigating crimes carried out by businesses to be "careful" about selecting cases and not too hasty to seize goods, freeze accounts or detain managers.
In Zhejing a similar announcement is "basically a policy calling for added lenience towards business" according to Gould. In this context, these Guidelines are likely to be welcomed by brand owners.
The Guidelines commit to "explore the establishment of an IP Appeal Court" but offer no detail. However, Jiang Zhipei, a former chief justice of the IP Tribunal within the Supreme People's Court and now a partner of Fangda Partners in Beijing, told Managing IP that there are two proposals on setting up the IP Appeal Court: either to establish an intermediate court or a higher court equivalent to the Beijing High People's Court.
For patent infringement cases and trade mark disputes, the appeal court would have the second hearing after the patent reexamination board and trade mark office's decision. The decision could then be appealed to the Supreme Court. "This is a much more efficient way," according to Jiang, who added that it might take five years to set such a court up, because it would require legislation.
The February edition of Managing IP contains an interview with SIPO commissioner Tian Lipu, in which he talks about how his Office will implement the National IP Strategy.
