Chinese procuratorial authorities handled about 134,000 intellectual property-related cases from January 2021 to September 2026, stepping up judicial protection of technological innovation and the legitimate rights and interests of businesses, according to a report submitted to the country's top legislature on Tuesday.
The report on intellectual property prosecution work by the Supreme People's Procuratorate was submitted for deliberation at the 25th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress.
Of the total, about 118,000 were criminal cases, while 7,514 involved civil litigation supervision, 5,393 concerned administrative litigation supervision and 2,864 were public interest litigation cases.
The report highlighted efforts to safeguard key technologies in strategically important industries, including semiconductors, new energy and advanced materials, particularly by cracking down on the theft and illegal transfer of trade secrets to overseas entities.
In one case, prosecutors in Zhejiang province indicted a former employee of a semiconductor company for allegedly providing the company's trade secrets to an overseas organization without authorization.
During the period, prosecutors also handled 1,062 civil and administrative litigation supervision cases involving patents, technical secrets and other intellectual property rights, and prosecuted 873 people for crimes including trade secret infringement and patent counterfeiting.
In the digital economy, prosecutors brought charges against 24,000 people for data security-related crimes involving sectors such as artificial intelligence and e-commerce. Meanwhile, 12 provincial-level procuratorates worked with relevant authorities to establish data intellectual property registration systems.
The report said prosecutors approved the arrests of 36,000 people and prosecuted 96,000 for intellectual property infringement crimes during the period, while pledging equal protection for domestic and foreign businesses and rights holders.
Efforts to combat trademark infringement resulted in the prosecution of 80,200 people, while another 8,719 were prosecuted for copyright infringement.
Prosecutors also stepped up oversight of malicious intellectual property litigation, including cases involving fraudulent copyright registrations and trademark applications used to seek illegitimate financial gains.
Since a targeted supervision campaign was launched in 2022, prosecutors have filed 1,386 protests or recommendations for retrial against legally effective civil judgments involving malicious litigation. Courts have ordered retrials in 1,048 cases and revised judgments in 699.
The report also highlighted efforts to curb improper law enforcement practices affecting businesses, including unlawful cross-regional investigations and asset seizures.
Prosecutors handled 1,088 related cases, supervised the withdrawal of 391 investigations and secured the release or return of improperly seized or frozen assets worth 440 million yuan ($66.18 million).
