China’s Guangzhou IP court is open for business

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

China’s Guangzhou IP court is open for business

The Guangzhou IP court opened its doors on Tuesday and will be ready to accept cases this Sunday.

According to a report from Xinhua, there will be 30 judges on the court, with 10 having been selected thus far.

The Guangzhou is the second of the three IP courts to open. The Beijing IP Court was set up in September and opened in November. The third court is located in Shanghai and is expected to open soon.

According to Beijing IP Court president Su Chi (宿迟), the court received 221 cases in its first month of operation. Of those cases, 138 were administrative matters, with 86 involving trade marks and 52 involving patents. There were also 81 civil cases, with 45 involving patents, four concerning software infringement, one trade secrets case and one dealing with well-known trade marks. The vast majority, 219 out of 221, were first instance matters.

Practitioners and rights holders are closely watching the development of the new specialised IP courts. Though China already had well-regarded IP tribunals within the Intermediate Courts, some say that the new IP courts may signal a move toward a more professional judiciary that values specialised experience.

For Managing IP’s previous analysis of the three specialised courts, click here.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Deborah Kirk discusses why IP and technology have become central pillars in transactions and explains why clients need practically minded lawyers
IP STARS, Managing IP’s accreditation title, reveals its latest rankings for patent work, including which firms are moving up
Leaders at US law firms explain what attorneys can learn from AI cases involving Meta and Anthropic, and why the outcomes could guide litigation strategies
Attorneys reveal the trademark and copyright trends they’ve noticed within the first half of 2025
Senior leaders at TE Connectivity and Clarivate explain how they see the future of innovation
A new action filed by Nokia against Asus and a landmark ruling on counterfeits by South Africa’s Supreme Court were also among the top talking points
Counsel explain how they’re navigating patent prosecution matters and highlight key takeaways from Federal Circuit cases
A partner who joined Fenwick alongside two others explains what drew her to the firm and her hopes for growth in Boston
The England and Wales High Court has granted Kirkland & Ellis client Samsung interim declaratory relief in its ongoing FRAND dispute with ZTE
A UDRP decision that found in favour of a small business in a domain name dispute could encourage more businesses to take a stand in ‘David v Goliath’ cases
Gift this article