The Several Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on the Technical Examination Officer’s Participation in Intellectual Property Cases were promulgated on 18 Mar. 2019 and entered into force on 1 May 2019.
There are 15 articles in total, which aim to stipulate how should the court appoint technical examination officers to participate in the trial of intellectual property cases.
The key points are as follows:
When trying the following cases, the court may appoint technical examination officers to participate in the trial: intellectual property cases related to patents, new varieties of plants, layout design of integrated circuits, technical secrets, computer software, monopoly and the like.
The main responsibilities of the technical examination officer are as follows: (1) to propose suggestions on disputed issues and investigation of technical facts; (2) to participate in inquiry, hearing, pre-trial meeting and court trial; (3) to propose opinions on technical examination.
The technical examination officer’s seat in court is on the left side of the assistant judge.
When participating in inquiry, hearing, pre-trial meeting and court trial, the technical examination officer may, with the consent of the judge, ask the parties and other litigation participants questions on the technical issues involved in the case.
The technical examination opinions put forward by the technical examination officer can be used as a reference for the collegial panel to find the technical facts. However, the collegial panel shall be responsible for the finding of technical facts according to the law.
If a technical examination officer participates in intellectual property cases, he/she shall sign his/her name on the judgment.