IP Tribunal of Beijing Higher Court Awarded Copyright Gold Medal by WIPO

The IP Tribunal under Beijing Higher People's Court ("the Tribunal") was recently awarded a copyright gold medal by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for its contribution in copyright protection. The prize presentation ceremony was held in Beijing National Convention Center on 18 November 2010.

The medal scheme is a global awarding mechanism jointly introduced to China by National Copyright Administration of the PRC and WIPO, and a gold medal represents the highest award within the global copyright community. The Tribunal is the sole award-winning judicial institution in China to date, and this award is significant also in the sense that it brings a first-time honor to China's judicial system. 

The WIPO award for the year is accorded to 14 awardees under three categories of "Creation Award", "Utilization Award" and "Protection Award" respectively. The medal received by the Tribunal falls under  "Protection Award".

Factors that contribute to the Tribunal's award winning in the Protection category, according to the WIPO selection committee, comprise: the Tribunal, as China's oldest special tribunal handling IP cases, outperforms IP tribunals of other Chinese high courts in terms of the number of cases heard; the Tribunal has handled copyright-related cases pertaining to a variety of fields like literature, films and computer software, among them are such classic cases involving Yahoo China's copyright infringement and Porsche Center architectural design; the principles of judgment developed from the Tribunal's trials have played an influential role in perfecting China's copyright legal system; the Tribunal also formulates guidelines and compiles a series of publications on exemplary IP cases, which have served as an important basis for the judges of the Beijing municipality to refer to in adjudicating cases, thereby ensuring a consistent standard for legal enforcement and maintaining sound judicial protection for IP rights in the municipality.