“Case Filing” In China’s Courts and Their Impact on IP Cases

In my experience over the past decade and talking to local IP courts in China, the IPR judges have for the most part been very forthcoming, knowledgeable and engaging.  However, their colleagues in the Case Filing Division (立案庭) (“CFD”) have operated in a much more opaque way, typically not willing to meet at all, despite their playing a critical role in certain WTO / TRIPS obligations of China, such as granting/denying preliminary injunctions, preliminary evidence or asset preservation measures (“provisional measures”)(TRIPS Art. 50).  The CFD of a court is more than a court clerk or docketing officer, the CFD actually operates to accept or deny cases, typically without handing down written decisions of any kind. Continue reading →