On 25 Apr. 2022, Beijing High People’s Court issued the “Guidelines on the Application of Punitive Damages in the Trial of Intellectual Property Infringement Civil Cases” (关于侵害知识产权民事案件适用惩罚性赔偿审理指南, hereinafter “the Trial Guidelines”) and typical cases of punitive damages.
The Trial Guidelines clarifies that punitive damages shall apply to cases in which intellectual property rights are infringed intentionally and the circumstances are serious, and are subject to the request of the right holders.
For a long time, claims for punitive damages by right holders against infringers were not supported under Chinese law. In the last three years, however, there has been a relaxation of Chinese law, particularly in the area of intellectual property law. The Copyright Law, Trademark Law, and Patent Law all support punitive damages.
The Trial Guidelines issued by the Beijing High People’s Court has provided a more stable expectation for right holders to claim for punitive damages.
Specifically, punitive damages include the compensation for the infringed person’s losses and the punitive damages. The Trial Guidelines clarifies that the total amount of punitive damages shall be the sum of the base number and the base number multiplied by the multiple, and refines the method of determining the base number and the multiple.
Cover Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
