The people's court of the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ) has been approved by the Supreme People's Court to handle intellectual property right (IPR) cases. It will begin handling cases in which the amount of money is below 5 million yuan ($763,000) in Hanyang area (which contains WEDZ, Hannan district, Hanyang district and Caidian district), Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, on May 1.
The new juridical authority will help market entities better safeguard their lawful interests and rights, a priority for the area which is currently home to nearly 300,000 market entities and some 1,100 high-tech firms. A total of 15,610 patents have been authorized in the area over the past three years.
Wuhan was approved to establish a regional IPR tribunal in 2017, and is a pioneer in the field under the direct administration of the Supreme People's Court.
In 2020, the First-Aid Center for Intellectual Property on Automobiles and Parts in Wuhan, China and the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court jointly set up a multiple dispute mediation mechanism.
Establishing a IPR tribunal can effectively shorten the litigation period and lower legal costs, and provides powerful juridical support for WEDZ's high-quality development.
Following the authorization, the zone's court will strengthen coordination with the departments of IPR protection, market regulation, and public security in Hanyang area to create new work systems in information sharing, multi-party talks, and clue transfers.
Meanwhile, it will also launch cooperation with Wuhan University and other renowned universities to conduct research on emerging IPR cases.
