On 16 November 2020, the Supreme People’s Court of China issued the Provisions on Evidence in Intellectual Property Civil Litigation, which will come into effect on 18 November 2020.

 

Introduced with a view to enhancing the judicial protection of IP in China, the Provisions were written on the basis of general evidence-related rules for civil litigation in combination with special consideration for the characteristics of IP litigation and IP lawsuits in practice.

 

The Provisions provide for such salient issues in IP civil litigation as submission of evidence, evidence preservation, and judicial authentication, as well as the protection of trade secrets in civil proceedings. In particular, the Provisions allow greater flexibility for the court in allocating the burden of proof among the parties in IP civil litigation, thus relieving the burden of proof for the right-holders, as well as support the development of an IP litigation system based on the principle of honesty and good faith.