News & Cases From China: March 2026

The SPC Releases Work Report for Two Sessions

Date: 9 March 2026

On 9 March, Zhang Jun, President of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), delivered a work report to the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress. Key contents concerning intellectual property are outlined below:

People’s Courts in China have further strengthened judicial protection of intellectual property rights. In criminal law enforcement, a total of 19,000 offenders of intellectual property crimes were sentenced throughout the year, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. In civil cases, the punitive damages system has been fully implemented. In a trade secret infringement case, the Court ordered malicious infringers and their affiliated company to pay joint and several compensation of RMB 380 million (approx. US$ 55 million), substantially raising the cost of IP infringement. In addition, the People’s Court adjudicated AI-related cases. In a typical case where generative AI provided false