Americans dominate lawsuits over IP
Nearly one in three civil lawsuits on intellectual property violations involving foreigners concerned Americans, Shanghai Higher People’s court said yesterday.
Between 2014 and 2017, Shanghai courts received 1,244 intellectual property disputes, and more than 96 percent of the cases were filed by foreigners. Trademark infringement was the most serious problem, accounting for more than 30 percent, followed by copyright piracy.
Over the same period, local courts made decisions on 1,219 out of the 1,244 disputes. Of them, 409 cases involved Americans, followed by French with 134 cases and Germans with 47.
Americans fell victim to copyright infringement over computer software, which accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total. Another major problem was trademark infringement, accounting for nearly 20 percent.
Also, in the last four years, Shanghai courts heard and received 27 criminal lawsuits filed by foreigners for intellectual property infringement. In most cases, domestic offenders sold counterfeit international brands.
Trademark infringement is also a headache for local businessmen with nearly 90 percent of them involved in 210 cases.