The number of intellectual property rights cases handled by Chinese courts increased significantly in 2018, showing that the country is increasingly aware of its importance in pursuing high-quality economic development, the Supreme People's Court said on Monday in a white paper. Courts at all levels accepted a total of 334,951 IPR cases in 2018, up by 41.2 percent from the previous year, according to the court, which released the white paper - Intellectual Property Protection by Chinese Courts in 2018 - in Hefei, Anhui province. Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, together with Beijing and Shanghai, remain the top contributors of cases, with the number of first-instance civil cases accepted by local courts reaching a combined 185,337 and covering 65.4 percent of the national total for IPR. The country's central and western regions saw explosive year-on-year increases, with annual growth in Gansu, Guizhou and Qinghai provinces of 290 percent, 157 percent and 155 percent, respectively. The growth is inseparable from the regions' economic strengths and potential, according to Li Shunde, a senior intellectual property researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Source: China Daily