Chinese Chief Justice Encourages Market Rates for IP Damages

According to China Daily on February 22, 2008, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) has ordered courts at all levels to adhere to a "full-compensation" principle when dealing with intellectual property rights (IPR) cases.

Jiang Zhipei, chief justice of the SPC IPR Tribunal, told China Daily: "If [Yamaha Motor Co v. Zhejiang Huatian] were handled simply according to legal compensation regulations, because of being unable to reach a clear compensation amount, the figure would have been about 500,000 yuan” [rather than the record damages of 8.3 million yuan ($1.16 million) for a trademark infringement involving a foreign investor.] "But the fact was the plaintiff did lose millions according to the evidence," he said.

"Courts should consider fully the actual transaction circumstances, including online business behavior, and properly present full market values," Cao said. He encouraged courts to introduce specialists such as auditors and accountants to assist in calculating infringement compensation, especially in cases of copyright royalties, losses and illegal gains.