On April 21, 2026, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) of the People’s Republic of China has published its White Paper on Intellectual Property Prosecution Work (2025), documenting the activities of procuratorial organs across China in handling intellectual property rights (IPR) matters during 2025. The report coincides with the formal establishment of a dedicated Intellectual Property Procuratorial Department within the SPP, approved by central authorities in 2025.
Institutional Development
The creation of the Intellectual Property Procuratorial Department at the SPP represents a structural change in how China’s procuratorial system addresses IPR matters. Provincial procuratorates in Beijing, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Inner Mongolia have also established corresponding IPR procuratorial departments. The SPP appointed its first group of 60 technical investigation officers covering fields including mechanics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and electronic communication, intended to assist prosecutors in handling technology-intensive cases.
Criminal Prosecution Activities
Procuratorates nationwide handled substantial volumes of IPR criminal matters during 2025:
- 6,220 cases involving 10,509 persons reviewed for arrest approval
- 5,709 persons arrested across 3,781 cases
- 11,341 cases involving 25,160 persons accepted for prosecution
- 9,135 cases involving 19,102 persons prosecuted
- 3,408 cases (37.3% of prosecuted matters) involved internet-based commission
Category-specific prosecutions included:
- Counterfeiting registered trademarks: 3,255 cases, 6,915 persons prosecuted
- Selling goods bearing counterfeit registered trademarks: 3,743 cases, 7,761 persons prosecuted
- Illegal manufacture or sale of registered trademark labels: 519 cases, 1,291 persons prosecuted
- Copyright infringement: 894 cases, 1,710 persons prosecuted
- Selling infringing copies: 162 cases, 343 persons prosecuted
- Trade secret infringement: 71 cases, 156 persons prosecuted
- Patent counterfeiting: 1 case, 3 persons prosecuted
Civil, Administrative, and Public Interest Litigation
Beyond criminal matters, procuratorates exercised supervisory functions across civil and administrative proceedings:
- 1,251 IPR civil procuratorial cases handled
- 433 supervisory opinions issued on effective civil judgments and rulings (41 protests, 392 procuratorial recommendations for retrial)
- 270 of 272 concluded retrial cases resulted in reversed judgments
- 1,795 IPR administrative procuratorial cases handled
- 228 cases of supervision over effective administrative judgments (28.8% year-on-year increase)
- 1,533 reverse transfer cases between administrative enforcement and criminal justice
- 741 public interest litigation leads received, with 612 cases filed
- 157 public interest litigation cases in anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition fields (1.6 times year-on-year increase)
Technology-Related Enforcement
The white paper identifies trade secret protection in high-technology sectors as an area of focus. A Shanghai case involving Zhang and 13 co-defendants concerned chip technology trade secrets, with valuation of the technical information reaching RMB 317 million. The principal defendant received a six-year prison sentence. A separate Zhejiang matter involved a former semiconductor company employee who disclosed trade secrets to a foreign organization.
In Shandong, a trade secret infringement case involving the herbicide project “Sulfentrazone” resulted in prosecution of four defendants and compensation exceeding RMB 8 million through an incidental civil action.
Copyright Enforcement and Emerging Technologies
Procuratorates initiated prosecution in over 30 copyright infringement cases involving the film “Ne Zha 2” and the “Pop Mart” product line. The SPP, along with the National Copyright Administration and three other departments, jointly supervised 109 major infringement and piracy cases.
A Beijing matter addressed copyright infringement involving an artificial intelligence generative model, where prosecutors determined that infringing images were substantially identical to the rights holder’s works. The case resulted in cancellation of a false copyright registration for the AIGC output, fines against the defendant company, and prison sentences for four individual defendants.
A Shanghai case involving distribution of infringing comic works through a mobile application involved illegal business turnover exceeding RMB 24 million. A Jiangsu case concerning pirated primary and secondary school textbooks identified sales exceeding RMB 32 million.
Trademark and Brand Protection
A Guangdong matter involving production and sale of counterfeit perfumes covered 52 perfume brands, with illegal business turnover exceeding RMB 120 million. The case resulted in criminal penalties for 21 defendants, fines totaling over RMB 52 million, and recovery of over RMB 82 million in illicit gains.
Procuratorates in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shandong applied criminal law provisions on service mark protection to matters involving theme parks, fashion shows, and home appliance repair services.
Geographical Indications and Agricultural Protection
Procuratorates initiated 70 public interest litigations concerning geographical indications in 2025. A Beijing investigation identified IP agency institutions that submitted false testing agreements during registration applications, resulting in invalidation of 29 geographical indication certification marks. Regional protection efforts addressed products including Fenggang Zinc Selenium Tea, Datong Daylily, Qinzhou Yellow Millet, Nagqu Tibetan Plateau Caterpillar Fungus, Jingyuan Yellow Beef, and Regong Thangka.
Malicious Litigation and Market Competition
The SPP, together with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), conducted a rectification campaign targeting the IP agency industry. Procuratorates in Beijing and Shandong applied big data supervision models to identify matters involving copyright infringement lawsuits filed despite flawed rights. A case handled jointly by Henan and Anhui procuratorates resulted in fraud convictions for six defendants who produced vector graphics through tracing, forged publication statements, and obtained copyright registrations to file infringement actions.
Foreign-Related IPR Work
Procuratorates in Zhejiang handled over 140 criminal cases involving infringement of IPR held by foreign-invested enterprises. The SPP participated in bilateral IPR dialogues with the EU, Russia, and Japan, and maintained exchanges with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Trademark Association (INTA). Procuratorates in Shanghai and Shaanxi released bilingual Chinese-English white papers on IPR prosecution work.
Guilty Plea System and Sentencing
Application of the leniency system for guilty pleas addressed 8,784 cases involving 18,570 persons in IPR matters, representing an 85.3% application rate. Specific sentencing recommendations were made for 15,252 persons, with 14,697 adopted by courts (96.4% acceptance rate).
Forward-Looking Statements
The white paper indicates that 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The SPP has stated intentions to continue developing specialized case-handling organizations, improve coordination mechanisms for comprehensive procuratorial performance, and address IPR infringement crimes.
