On May 19, 2011, Zhongshan No.1 Intermediate People's Court (hereinafter referred to as Zhongshan No.1 Court) adopted the "3-in-1"mode for the trials of intellectual property (IP) cases. The Court sentenced the defendant Mr. Huang to 6 months in prison in addition to a fine of 1,000 yuan for copyright infringement.
As approved by the Supreme People's Court (SPC), Zhongshan No.1 Court has begun to hear various IP cases by the Intellectual Property Tribunal under the rules of Civil Procedural Law, Administrative Procedural Law and Criminal Procedural Law since January 1, 2011. On May 19, Zhongshan No.1 Court adopted the "3-in-1"mode on the trials of IP cases for the first time.
Between December 20 and December 24, 2010, the defendant Mr.Huang sold CDs, DVDs of musical and other audio-visual works in the front of a drugstore in Zhongshan City for commercial purposes without the permission from right holders. On December 24, the defendant sold 300 pieces of optical discs to Mr. Liu, thus being caught. The police seized 503 optical discs (all proved to be illegitimate audio-visual works containing no pornographic or reactionary information) and an amount of illicit money 900 yuan.
On May 19, Zhongshan No.1 Court pronounced a sentence that the defendant should be sent to prison for 6 months and be fined 1,000 yuan, on the ground that the defendant Mr.Huang ignored state laws and infringed the copyright by selling musical and other audio-visual works without the permission from right holders. The defendant accepted the verdict.
What is "3-in-1" trial mode? And why to implement "3-in-1" trial mode?
As introduced by the responsible officer of Zhongshan No.1 Court, the "3-in-1" trial of IP cases was a trial mechanism under the rules of Civil Procedural Law, Administrative Procedural Law and Criminal Procedural Law; the actual practice focused on the trial of all civil cases, criminal cases and administrative cases by the Intellectual Property Tribunal. At the initial operation, the Intellectual Property Tribunal was allowed to invite judges from Administrative Tribunal and No.2 Criminal Tribunal to form a collegial panel to conduct the trial.
The responsible officer said, "The trial of IP cases requires adequate professional knowledge. The Intellectual Property Tribunal can help the court find related facts and make correct verdict. The "3-in-1" trial mode might prevent different tribunals in the same court making different ascertainment for the same legal relationship or similar legal facts." He emphasized that such an approach could not only help investigate cases quickly but also formulate a uniform judicial standard for the trial of all kinds of cases, save trial resources, improve trial efficiency, reduce litigation costs and protect the legal rights of right holders.
(Source:IPR in China)
