Lower Courts May Now Hear Patent Disputes, Chinese Supreme Court Says

摘要

China's local level courts will begin to hear civil patent cases under a recent interpretation from the Supreme People's Court, a change that could lead to local protectionism and uncertainty for multinational companies in the short term, practitioners told BNA. Court Interpretation [2013] No. 9, dated April 1 and published on April 15 on the court's website, amends a line in an existing law to allow the Supreme People's Court, "according to the actual situation", to permit lower courts to hear patent disputes.