AIPLA Submits Comments to China’s Supreme People’s Court on Draft Patent Infringement Judicial Interpretations

Arlington, VA. February 2, 2026 – The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments on the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China’s Draft Judicial Interpretations concerning patent infringement disputes. AIPLA notes the SPC’s efforts to clarify and modernize patent litigation procedures but identified several provisions that would benefit from greater precision.

AIPLA emphasized the importance of clear, predictable standards to ensure fair enforcement and alignment with international practice. It noted that ambiguity—particularly regarding jurisdictional evidence and evaluation report requirements—could impose unnecessary burdens and create uncertainty for litigants.

AIPLA urged that patent invalidation decisions take effect only when final and non-appealable, warning that treating preliminary decisions as conclusive could unfairly prejudice patentees. It referenced Novo Nordisk v. CNIPA as illustrative. It cautioned against adopting a broad “prior art defect” doctrine that could distort infringement analysis, recommended limiting prosecution estoppel to amendments made in response to patentability objections, and suggested narrowing Article 12 to avoid ambiguity between direct and equivalent infringement.

With respect to design patents, AIPLA stressed that scope and infringement determinations should be grounded in visual representations. It also supported recognition of prior-application-based non-infringement defenses, including foreign filings with appropriate safeguards, and endorsed allowing manufacturers to recover costs when a legitimate source defense succeeds.

Click to the right to read the complete comments.