National-level IP court to hear patent disputes

Quality, efficiency of hearings will get better, its chief judge says; direct appeals approved

China will improve the protection of intellectual property rights in patent disputes by setting up a national-level IP court. The new court will streamline the appeal process by allowing litigants to bypass top provincial courts, the Supreme People's Court said on Saturday.

Preparations for the new IP Court, a division of the SPC, are complete, "and it's to be open and in operation in Beijing soon", Luo Dongchuan, the top court's vicepresident, said at a news conference.