Disputes over science, technology on increase

Intellectual property disputes in science and technology have been on the rise in Shanghai as the city strives to transform itself into a global hub for science and technology, the Shanghai High People's Court said on Monday in its 2018 White Paper on Intellectual Property Trials.

Take gene technology for example. In 2018, Shanghai courts received four cases related to gene technology and genetic data, the white paper said.

In one case, a DNA technology company from Canada claimed that some research institutions in Shanghai had infringed on its patents in human gene testing technology. In another, a major hospital in Shanghai sued a foreign company for infringing on its exclusive ownership of human genetic resource information.

"It was not the first year the courts have received such cases," said Li Shulan, deputy head of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court. "But there is an obvious trend. The number of such disputes is on the rise."

Last year also saw a dramatic increase in criminal punishment and compensation in civil cases related to intellectual property infringement, the white paper said.

According to the report, Shanghai courts sentenced 353 people in 205 cases with criminal penalties last year, a 45 percent increase in cases year-on-year. In those cases, 33 people were sentenced to imprisonment between three and seven years, up from about 20 the previous year.

Wang Hong, a woman who sold fake MCM bags on Taobao for a year starting in March 2017, made 2.96 million yuan ($440,000) and was fined 500,000 yuan and sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

The compensation amounts in civil disputes were also elevated to new heights, the white paper said.

In two cases involving computer software copyright infringements that were concluded last year, the defendants Shanghai TJ Innova Engineering and Technology Co and Shanghai Zhidou Electric Vehicle Technology Co were ordered to pay compensation of 15 million yuan and 9 million yuan, respectively - record amounts in the city and the full amount requested by the plaintiff, Dassault Systems of France.

zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/23/2019 page5)