The Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on Hearing Civil Cases involving Intellectual Property Rights of E-commerce Platforms were promulgated in 2020 and entered into force on 10 Sept. 2020.

There 11 articles in total, which aim to provide courts nationwide a unified standard in hearing civil cases involving intellectual property rights of e-commerce platforms, so as to apply the E-commerce Law more accurately.

The key points are as follows:

1.The platform’s obligations: if the e-commerce platform operator (hereinafter referred to as “the platform”) knows or should have known that the business operator within the platform (i.e., the operator who opens shops on the platform, hereinafter referred to as “the merchant”) infringes upon intellectual property rights, the platform shall take necessary measures in time, including but not limited to deleting, blocking, and disconnecting links. The platform has the right to take measures to terminate transactions and services if the merchant infringes on intellectual property repeatedly and intentionally.

2.Infringement notice: according to the E-commerce Law, if the intellectual property right holder believes that his/her intellectual property has been infringed by the merchant, he/she has the right to inform the platform to take necessary measures. The notice shall include: the proof of intellectual property rights, the prima facie evidence of infringement and the like.

3.Non-infringement statement: according to the E-commerce Law, after receiving the notice given by the platform, the merchant can submit a non-infringement statement to the platform. The statement should include: the ownership certificate, the license certificate and other prima facie non-infringement evidence.

4.Application for preservation measures by the right holder: under urgent situations, if the platform does not immediately take measures such as removing the goods from the shelves, the legitimate interests of the intellectual property right holder will be subject to irreparable damage, and then the right holder shall apply to the court for preservation measures.

5.Application for preservation measures by the merchant: after the platform takes measures against the merchant, under urgent situations, if the e-commerce platform operator does not immediately restore the link to commodity, or if the notifier (i.e. the intellectual property right holder) does not withdraw the notice or stop sending the notice immediately, the merchant’s legitimate interests will be subject to irreparable damage, and then the merchant can also apply to the court for preservation measures.