Courts may invite foreigners to IP lawsuits
6 April 2007
In an effort to boost transparency in the legal system, Chinese courts may invite foreigners to attend hearings on intellectual property rights lawsuits. The move is part of a plan by the National Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights Protection, which is headed by Vice-Premier Wu Yi. The South China Morning Post reported that, under the plan, representatives from a wide range of bodies "will be invited to audit court hearings of selected cases, to improve the openness and credibility of decisions." Foreigners can already apply to attend hearings but the procedure is more complicated than that for Chinese citizens. Pang Zhongzheng, director of the All-China Lawyers Association's intellectual property committee, said more openness was progress but the main problem is a lack of punitive damages in case of an infringement. "We don't have compensation for punitive damages for rights owners. The owners may win a case but still lose money," Pang told the newspaper.