China Intellectual Property Litigation for Foreign Companies

Introduction

China is one of the world's busiest jurisdictions for intellectual property litigation, and a foreign rights holder will find a system that is increasingly specialized and — for those who register their rights early and marshal evidence well — genuinely usable. The key is understanding how the system is organized and what it rewards.

One structural fact dominates everything else: China's IP rights are territorial and largely first-to-file. A foreign trademark registration, by itself, gives you no right in China. Registration in China is the gateway to enforcement.

Where Cases Are Heard: Specialized IP Courts

China has built a tier of dedicated IP adjudication:

• Specialized IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, plus a further IP court in Hainan, hear major IP cases;
• the Supreme People's Court IP Tribunal (established 1 January 2019) acts as the national appellate layer for technology-related IP cases;
• ordinary IP cases are heard by designated IP tribunals within the intermediate courts across the country.

The practical effect is that judges are more specialized, and technical cases benefit from technical investigators who assist the court on complex subject matter.

The Main Causes of Action

Depending on the right at issue, the claim will be framed under one of the following:

• Trademark infringement — Trademark Law, Article 57 (using an identical or similar mark on identical or similar goods, counterfeiting, providing premises or assistance, etc.);
• Patent infringement — the Patent Law (invention, utility model, design);
• Copyright infringement — Copyright Law, Articles 52–53;
• Trade secret misappropriation — Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL), Article 9;
• Unfair competition / passing off — AUCL, Article 6 (confusing use of marks, packaging, trade names, domain names).

Many cases plead more than one cause of action, for example trademark infringement plus AUCL Article 6 unfair competition.

Damages: Statutory Ranges and Punitive Multipliers

China's statutory-damages regime gives a rights holder a floor that does not depend on proving the full quantum of loss:

• Trademark: statutory damages up to RMB 5 million;
• Patent: statutory damages of RMB 30,000 to RMB 5 million;
• Unfair competition: statutory damages up to RMB 5 million;
• Copyright: statutory damages of RMB 500 to RMB 5 million.

Where the infringement is intentional and serious, courts may apply punitive damages of one to five times the base amount, guided by the SPC's 2021 interpretation (effective 3 March 2021). Punitive damages are no longer theoretical — they are routinely sought in the most egregious counterfeiting and trade-secret cases.

Evidence and Procedure: What Foreign Companies Should Expect

• No US-style discovery. There is no broad document production. Evidence is collected by the parties (with help from notarization and, where available, evidence-preservation orders), so investigation and preservation before filing are decisive.
• Foreign documents need authentication. Since China joined the Hague Apostille Convention effective 7 November 2023, an apostille generally replaces consular legalization for corporate documents and powers of attorney — but notarization is still required first.
• Preliminary injunctions are available in IP cases but require a strong showing and security; in practice many rights holders rely on evidence preservation and asset preservation instead.
• Foreign parties must instruct a Chinese-licensed lawyer; the POA must be notarized and apostilled.

Two Revisions Worth Watching

The substantive law is moving:

• The third revision of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law was adopted 27 June 2025 and took effect 15 October 2025, updating the unfair-competition and trade-secret framework;
• A fifth revision of the Trademark Law was adopted 26 June 2026 and is set to take effect 1 January 2027.

Both are recent enough that specific provisions should be checked against the latest official text before relying on them.

A Practical Playbook for Foreign Rights Holders

1. Register first, enforce second — trademarks, patents and designs in China, in the company's own name, before you enter the market.
2. Preserve infringement evidence early — notarized purchases, screenshots, physical samples, chain-of-custody records.
3. Choose the right forum and remedy — court, administrative raid, or customs recordal, alone or in combination.
4. Use statutory and punitive damages strategically — allege intent and seriousness where the facts support them.
5. Get the POA and documents apostilled before any filing deadline looms.

How Tianni Law Firm Can Help

Tianni Law Firm (江苏天倪律师事务所), based in Nanjing, Jiangsu, advises foreign rights holders on IP registration, investigation and enforcement in China. Our work includes trademark and patent enforcement, copyright and trade-secret litigation, unfair-competition claims, evidence preservation, administrative raids, customs recordal and the negotiation of settlements and licensing arrangements.