17 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – MAY 2024 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM (SPC) of China. Of those, 544,112 had been adjudicated. Among the 462,176 first-instance civil cases through the year, there were 44,711 patent cases – a year-on-year increase of 14.73 percent. Trademark cases totalled 131,429, rising 16.85 percent year-on-year. The number of copyright cases fell to 251,687, a decline of 1.57 percent yearon-year. Technology contract cases saw 6,492 filed, a 53.19 percent jump yearon-year. Competition cases reached 10,230, an 8.97 percent increase yearon-year. The 17,627 other case types represented a 0.51 percent decrease from the prior year. In terms of penalties, Chinese courts applied punitive damages in 319 cases nationwide in 2023 – a 117 percent increase from the year before. The total damages awarded amounted to 1.16 billion renminbi, a 3.5 times increase year-over-year. During a press conference, the SPC said it would further explore and improve China’s specialised IP litigation system. This includes accelerating plans to formulate a legislative proposal for the “Law on Special Procedures for Intellectual Property Litigation.” The SPC has also said that it plans to further reform the “three-in-one” trial mechanism for civil, administrative, and criminal IP cases. Part of the plan is to consolidate jurisdiction over IP cases within 25 high people’s courts, 242 intermediate people’s courts, and 287 primary-level people’s courts nationwide. In addition, China acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) in March 2023. The convention took effect in China in November and brings the country more in line with international standards. Now, foreigners no longer need to go through the lengthy process of notarisation, validation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and legalisation by the Chinese Consulate to present documents in a legal procedure before a Chinese court. For private documents like a power of attorney given to a Chinese lawyer, simple notarisation is sufficient to obtain an apostille. China also made some changes to retrial procedures by the SPC. Due to a significant increase in civil litigation, the SPC faced a large influx of retrial applications. To manage this, it introduced a Pilot Program for Improving the Four Levels Court Trials in May 2021, which limited acceptable grounds for granting retrials. As a result, obtaining a retrial from the SPC for challenging cases became extremely difficult. However, in July 2023, the SPC issued a Guiding Opinion on the Determination of Jurisdiction Concerning Elevation of Jurisdiction and Retrials of Cases, signalling a change in approach. The SPC announced it would now consider retrials for cases meeting specific criteria, such as those of nationwide significance, general importance in law application, legal issues requiring We are always stand by ready for supporting our clients with expert knowledge and experiences in intellectual property. We are ready to support corporate activities by making proposals, acting flexibly at the turn of the tide, and making decisions of what to do or not to do now, and strategically advancing processes to reach solutions advantageous to our clients. Some of ABE & PARTNERS’ achievements in high-profile IP cases: 1. Baxalta’s antibody patent infringement case against Chugai Pharmaceutical in Japan ABE & PARTNERS represented Baxalta, and filed the lawsuit while Chugai was conducting a clinical trial. This was a first antibody patent infringement case in Japan. 2. Biopharmaceutical Company against Pharmaceutical Company at AAA Arbitration Takanori ABE was retained as an expert for the Japanese Patent Law and has submitted an expert opinion and testified at deposition. 3. Japanese Pharmaceutical Company’s acquisition of Shire ABE & PARTNERS represented Shire in Due Diligence in $62 billion deal M&A. 4. Nichia’s white LED patent infringement cases against Everlight in US, Germany, China Takanori ABE’s article was cited in PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI Nichia submitted 5. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma’s free radial scavenger patent lawsuit against Nisshin Pharmaceutical in Japan ABE & PARTNERS represented Mitsubishi Tanabe and settled the case by a resolution with Nisshin. Our Policy 1. Providing specific solutions from viewpoints shared with clients and based on thorough legal research We at ABE & PARTNERS share the perspectives of our clients by fully understanding their business goals. Our firm thoroughly and comprehensively investigates all legal issues and technical matters from clients’ perspectives and propose specific solutions. 2. Supporting clients’ global strategies based on abundant experience in global litigation We at ABE & PARTNERS solve issues arising from global business developments of our clients with help from our experience in litigating international cases, and the networks we have forged with overseas law firms. 3. Providing timely services in dog-year business developments We at ABE & PARTNERS strive to improve the speed and efficiency of our services on all fronts to adapt to today’s rapidly changing economy and society. Meeting Your Business Goals Together BROUGHT TO YOU BY ABE & PARTNERS to the U.S. Supreme Court. ABE & PARTNERS assisted Nichia, and won the case at the Federal Court of Justice in Germany and Beijing IP Court. Takanori Abe Managing Partner Attorney at Law, Admitted in Japan and New York, Patent Attorney, Admitted in Japan Guest Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University E: abe@abe-law.com ABE & PARTNERS Matsushita IMP Building, 1-3-7, Shiromi, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka 540-0001 Japan T: +81-6- 6949-1496 W: www.abe-law.com
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