Regional jurisdiction refers to the division of labor and authority among people's courts at the same level to accept first-instance civil cases. So what is the geographical jurisdiction of intellectual property cases? Except for the jurisdiction of the intellectual property courts in Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai according to special regulations, the geographical jurisdiction of intellectual property cases in other places follows general regulations.

1. Intellectual Property Court Jurisdiction Regulations

In 2014, the Supreme People’s Court issued regulations on the jurisdiction of intellectual property courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. According to these regulations, the jurisdiction of intellectual property courts is The following first-instance cases within the municipal jurisdiction:

1. Civil and administrative cases on patents, new plant varieties, integrated circuit layout designs, technical secrets, and computer software;

2. Administrative cases involving litigation involving administrative actions involving copyright, trademark, unfair competition, etc. made by departments of the State Council or local people's governments at or above the county level;

3. Civil cases involving the identification of well-known trademarks.

2. Geographical jurisdiction of intellectual property cases in other places

1. In which people's court should patent infringement disputes be sued?

Patent infringement dispute cases shall be accepted by the court at the place where the infringement occurred or the defendant’s domicile. The place of infringement includes: the place where the products accused of infringing the invention or utility model patent rights are manufactured, used, offered for sale, sold, imported, etc.; the place where the use of the patented method is carried out; and the place where the products directly obtained according to the patented method are carried out. The place where the acts of using, offering to sell, selling, and importing are carried out; the place where the manufacturing, selling, and importing of patented design products is carried out; the place where the act of counterfeiting the patent of others is carried out; the place where the infringement results of the above-mentioned infringement acts occur. The plaintiff only files a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the infringing product, but does not sue the seller. If the place of manufacture of the infringing product is inconsistent with the place of sale, the people's court of the place of manufacture has the right to accept the case; if the manufacturer and seller are the same defendants, the place of sale shall The court has the authority to accept it. The seller is a branch of the manufacturer. If the plaintiff sues the manufacturer of the infringing product in the place of sale, the court in the place of sale has the right to accept the case.

2. In which people's court should copyright infringement disputes be filed?

Copyright infringement dispute cases may be accepted by the People's Court of the place where the infringement is committed, the place where the infringing copies are stored or seized, or where the defendant is domiciled. The storage place of infringing copies refers to the place where infringing copies are stored and concealed in large quantities or regularly; the place of seizure and seizure refers to the place where customs, copyright, industry and commerce and other administrative agencies seal and seize infringing copies in accordance with the law. For the same lawsuit filed by multiple defendants involving different places where the infringement was committed, the plaintiff can choose the jurisdiction of the people's court where the infringement of one of the defendants was committed; for a lawsuit filed only against one of the defendants, the plaintiff can choose the place where the defendant's infringement was committed. The People's Court has the authority to accept the case.

3. In which people's court should trademark infringement disputes be filed?

Trademark infringement dispute cases may be accepted by the People's Court of the place where the infringement is committed, where the infringing goods are stored or seized, or where the defendant is domiciled. The storage place of infringing goods refers to the place where infringing goods are stored and concealed in large quantities or regularly; the place of seizure and seizure refers to the place where customs, industrial and commercial and other administrative agencies seal and detain infringing goods in accordance with the law. For the same lawsuit filed by multiple defendants involving different places where the infringement was committed, the plaintiff can choose the jurisdiction of the people's court where the infringement of one of the defendants was committed; for a lawsuit filed only against one of the defendants, the plaintiff can choose the place where the defendant's infringement was committed. The People's Court has the authority to accept the case.

4. In which people's court should software copyright infringement disputes be sued?

Infringement dispute cases involving computer network copyrights shall be under the jurisdiction of the People's Court of the place where the infringement occurred or where the defendant is domiciled. The place of infringement includes the location of network servers, computer terminals and other equipment that carry out the alleged infringement. If it is difficult to determine the place of infringement and the defendant's residence, the location of the computer terminal and other equipment where the plaintiff discovered the infringing content can be regarded as the place of infringement.

5. Cases of infringement disputes involving computer network domain names

Cases of infringement disputes involving computer network domain names shall be accepted by the Intermediate People's Court at the place where the infringement occurred or where the defendant is domiciled. If it is difficult to determine the place of infringement and the defendant's domicile, the location where the plaintiff discovers the computer terminal and other equipment of the domain name can be regarded as the place of infringement.

6. Cases involving new plant variety infringement disputes

In cases of new plant variety infringement disputes, the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where the defendant is domiciled or where the infringement occurred is located and The Intermediate People's Court designated by the Supreme People's Court has jurisdiction. The place of infringement in cases of new plant variety infringement disputes refers to the place where the propagation materials of the new plant variety are produced and sold for commercial purposes without the permission of the owner of the variety right, or where the propagation materials of the authorized variety are reused in production The location of the propagating material of another species.

7. Cases involving disputes over infringement of the exclusive right to layout design of integrated circuits

Cases involving disputes over infringement of exclusive rights to layout design of integrated circuits shall be determined by the jurisdiction where the defendant is domiciled or where the infringement occurred. The Intermediate People's Court of Dalian, Qingdao, Wenzhou, Foshan, and Yantai City where the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government is located or where the special economic zone is located or where it belongs has jurisdiction.

8. Other cases of intellectual property infringement disputes shall be under the jurisdiction of the People’s Court of the place where the infringement occurred or where the defendant is domiciled.

9. Cases involving intellectual property ownership disputes shall be under the jurisdiction of the People’s Court of the place where the defendant is domiciled.

10. Intellectual property contract dispute cases shall be under the jurisdiction of the People's Court of the place where the defendant is domiciled or the place where the contract is performed. The parties to the contract may agree in the written contract to choose the jurisdiction of the people's court at the place where the defendant is domiciled, the place where the contract is performed, the place where the contract is signed, the place where the plaintiff is domiciled, and the place where the subject matter is located, but the provisions of hierarchical jurisdiction and exclusive jurisdiction shall not be violated.