Selected criminal trade mark cases in the annual Top Ten Intellectual Property Cases of the Supreme People’s Court of China

Abstract

Since 2009, the Supreme People’s Court of China (SPC) has annually reported the Top Ten Intellectual Property Cases (TTIPCs) on and around World Intellectual Property Day in April. The individual cases involve the past year’s countrywide intellectual property cases and form a key component of China’s national case guidance system. Due to their conciseness and regularity of release, as well as their role as explicit guidance provided by the SPC, the TTIPCs encompass a particularly valuable observational window into Chinese law and its applications. In contrast to holistic empirical research involving numerous cases, this study embarks on a new course by investigating the specific intersection of TTIPCs and trade mark criminal offences. A longitudinal sampling method of past TTIPCs has been used to extract all criminal trade mark cases. These cases were subsequently analysed within the prevailing social context during adjudication and the evolution of China’s trade mark criminal legislation. This study aims to reveal the characteristics, functions, and limitations of TTIPC criminal trade mark cases.