SPC and SPP to Address Several Issues on the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal IP Infringement Cases

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) recently released the Interpretation on Several Issues Relating to the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of the Intellectual Property Rights Infringement (the "Interpretation"), effective from April 26, 2025, with typical cases on criminal protection of intellectual property rights simultaneously distributed as a supporting document.

The Interpretation consists of 31 articles in five parts: (1) relevant provisions on trademark crimes; (2) relevant provisions on counterfeit patent crimes; (3) relevant provisions on copyright crimes; (4) relevant provisions on trade secret crimes; and (5) relevant provisions on common issues relating to intellectual property (IP) crimes. Notably, the Interpretation further clarifies the criteria for identifying such terms as "goods or services of the same kind", "identical trademark", and "registered trademark indication", which have been contentious in practice, and, upon integrating existing judicial interpretations, adds the criteria for conviction of trademark crimes such as counterfeiting registered service mark. In addition, it also clarifies the specific circumstances of "counterfeiting others' patent", as well as the criteria for the conviction of counterfeit patent crime, with the threshold for conviction appropriately lowered according to actual conditions.



(Source: https://www.spp.gov.cn//xwfbh/wsfbt/202504/t20250424_693977.shtml#2)

Note: The link to the Chinese official website of the document is for your reference.