On September 9, 2026, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of the People’s Republic of China released nine “Typical Cases” (典型案例) addressing unfair competition, timed to coincide with China’s 2026 Fair Competition Policy Publicity Week, whose theme was “A Unified National Market, Fair Competition for the Future” (统一大市场，公平竞未来). Note that in the Chinese judicial system, “typical case” compilations serve a guidance function distinct from formal binding precedent. While China does not operate under a common-law stare decisis doctrine, the SPC uses …
Category: Case
China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate Releases Five Typical Cases on Technical Support in IP Case Handling
On September 2, 2026, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) publicly released five typical cases illustrating technical support in intellectual property procuratorial case handling. These cases were jointly compiled by the SPP’s Intellectual Property Procuratorial Department and the Procuratorial Technology and Information Research Center, reflecting recent efforts by procuratorial organs to adapt to the specialized and technical nature of intellectual property cases. The cases span both criminal and civil procuratorial functions, addressing technical issues including patent infringement determination, non-public-knowledge determination for …
China’s SAMR Finds That AI Prompts and Related Materials Can Be Protected as Trade Secrets
On August 20, 2026, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) published six typical cases involving infringement of trade secrets, including a case in which SAMR held that prompts, review rules, and annotation specifications used in an AI large-model system can independently constitute trade secrets, separate from any protection attaching to underlying source code. The six cases were released to illustrate enforcement under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China (as amended in 2019) and to inform …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Clarifies That Seed Sales After Variety Right Expiration Can Still Constitute Infringement Where Production Occurred During the Protection Period
(2026) 最高法知民终51号 — decided April 3, 2026; published August 4, 2026 The Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has issued a decision addressing a recurring problem in plant variety right enforcement: what happens when the accused infringer produces protected propagating material during the term of protection, but the resulting seed is not sold until after the variety right has expired. The court held that the timing of production, not the timing of sale, controls the infringement analysis, and that …