Expanded coverage

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) recently issued two Circulars expanding the jurisdiction of lower courts in relation to intellectual property cases: the Circular on Revising the Jurisdiction Thresholds for First Instance Civil Intellectual Property Cases at All Levels of Local People's Courts (关于调整地方各级人民法院管辖第一审知识产权民事案件标准的通知) and the Circular Regarding the Announcement of the Jurisdiction of Different Levels of Basic People's Courts Concerning First Instance Intellectual Property Civil Cases. The Circulars were both issued on January 28 2010 and came into effect on February 1.

China has four levels of courts: the basic people's courts (BCs) are the lowest level of courts and their judgments are appealable to the intermediate people's courts (ICs); judgments issued here are appealable to the higher people's courts (HCs). The SPC is the highest court in China.