Supreme People's Court issues Certain Provisions on Evidence in Civil Intellectual Property Litigation (November 2020)

On November 16, the Supreme People's Court issued "Certain Provisions on Evidence in Civil Intellectual Property Litigation" (hereinafter referred to as "Intellectual Property Evidence Provisions"), a judicial interpretation that came into effect on November 18, 2020.

It is understood that the "Intellectual Property Evidence Provisions" consists of 33 articles, which provide detailed regulations on the "difficulty of proof" of the right holder in civil intellectual property litigation, preservation of evidence, judicial appraisal, and confidentiality measures for evidence involving trade secrets or other commercial information, etc., with the aim of resolving outstanding problems related to evidence in civil intellectual property litigation.

The formulation of the Provisions on Evidence of Intellectual Property Rights follows basic rules of evidence in civil litigation. It is based on the actual practice of intellectual property trials, guided by litigation integrity and guaranteed by compulsory measures for obstruction of civil litigation. It further improves the important systems of evidence submission, proof of obstruction, preservation of evidence and judicial appraisal. The formulation of the Provisions on Evidence of Intellectual Property Rights also appropriately reduces the burden of proof on the right holder, and promotes the construction of an intellectual property civil litigation system that stimulates and guides the parties to actively and positively adduce evidence. The promulgation and implementation of the "Intellectual Property Evidence Provisions" will play an important role in solving the "difficult to prove" problem in civil intellectual property litigation, reducing the cost of intellectual property rights, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of intellectual property protection, and promoting the creation of a market-oriented, rule of law and international business environment.

Adapted from the China Courts website