Judicial Protection of Internet IPR Faces New Challenges

June 5, 2007
On April 25, 2007, Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court held a forum regarding the Judicial Protection of Internet related IPRs. It is learned that the number of disputes over Internet related IP issues increased 8 times since 1999 until now, with new types of cases emerging continuously. In face of great challenges, the judges often have to seek help from professionals. Su Chi, deputy director of Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court, said that 311 Internet dispute cases had been received by the end of April since the first case filed in 1999. Cases of this type are increasing in terms of the receiving numbers.

According to conservative statistics, Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court received 12 cases of Internet related IP disputes in 1999, and 95 cases in 2006, multiplying the figure in 1999 by eight. The development of Internet brings lots of new types of cases that the judges never face before. “To judge an Internet related IP case, the major issues faced by judges are the legal character of digitalization of works, the applicability of Copyright Law to unauthorized spreading of works over the Internet, and whether registration of others’ registered trademark as domain name constitutes infringement”, Said Su Chi, the Deputy director. According to Su, the copyright owners tend to sue the websites providing network services like searching and linking in recent years, instead of the individuals uploading the works to the Internet. It will become a new task to define the legal position and obligation of network service providers in copyright disputes.

　

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