China's Supreme Court will accept intellectual property cases.
Intellectual property law cases could be accepted by China's Supreme Court starting next month, the government said on Saturday, as the country seeks to strengthen protections in response to complaints from the United States on the issue.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Intellectual property law cases could be accepted by China's Supreme Court starting next month, the government said on Saturday, as the country seeks to strengthen protections in response to complaints from the United States on the issue.
China and the United States are currently in talks to resolve a trade dispute in which both countries imposed tariffs on each other's products.
The United States, along with the European Union, has long complained about weak controls on intellectual property rights in China, and this has been a key complaint of the Trump administration, along with forced technology transfers and a large trade deficit.
In response, Beijing has sought to show that it is taking seriously ways to address US concerns.
The Vice President of the Supreme Court, Luo Dongchuan, said at a press conference that starting January 1st, the Supreme Court would begin handling appeals in intellectual property rights cases, which were previously only heard by provincial-level courts.
"Creating a court focused on intellectual property rights within the Supreme Court is an important decision taken by the Communist Party, a major step towards strengthening the legal protection of intellectual property rights, which will have a significant impact both domestically and internationally."
Luo did not directly answer a question about how the US should view the decision and said that China's efforts to protect intellectual property were a "basic national policy."
"China is already the world's second-largest economy, and in the future, China's development will depend on innovation. Protecting innovation requires legal safeguards for intellectual property rights."