May

1. Sanyou Attended the 148th INTA Annual Meeting in London, Furthering Its Global Strategy for Intellectual Property Exchanges

The 148th International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting was held in London in 2026, bringing together over 10,000 IP professionals from around the world to explore emerging trends and industry advancements.

With four decades of deep expertise in international intellectual property services, the professional team from Sanyou once again attended the meeting to exchange ideas and pursue collaborative growth with global peers.

During the conference, Sanyou team members actively took part in professional forums and business matchmaking sessions. At the highly tech-forward exclusive booth, we welcomed both long-standing and new clients and partners from domestic and international markets. In-depth discussions were held on key topics such as overseas trademark strategies, cross-border IP enforcement, intellectual property risk management, and AI industry applications. In addition, Sanyou hosted an exclusive business networking reception, where participants discussed market trends and worked together to deepen international cooperation and further the company’s global service network.

2. Good News: Sanyou Secures Multiple Industry Honors, Building on a Legacy of Excellence

(1) Two Sanyou’s Cases Selected as Annual Typical Cases by Beijing Trademark Association

Recently, the Beijing Trademark Association announced its "Top Ten Litigation and Top Ten Non-litigation Typical Cases of Beijing Trademarks (2025)." Two cases represented by Sanyou—the trademark invalidation case of "哈尔的移动城堡" (Howl's Moving Castle) and the trademark opposition case of "DRAGON BALL SPARKING ZERO"—were both selected among the Top 10 Non-litigation Typical Cases of Trademarks for 2025.

Third from left: Representative of Sanyou attorneys receiving the award.

(2) Sanyou Recognized for Outstanding Achievements in Trademark Law Research

The "Research Report Release and Exchange Meeting on Frontier Issues of Trademark Law," hosted by the China Trademark Association, was recently held. During the meeting, outstanding research achievements from 2025 were commended. The trademark and legal team of Beijing Sanyou Intellectual Property Agency Ltd. won multiple honors.

Sanyou was awarded three second?prize awards and two third?prize awards for its research reports, and one team member was recognized as an Outstanding Co-host.

The award-winning team of Sanyou

(3) Sanyou Selected for 2026 "MOZLEN500" Global Top 100 List of Chinese Foreign-Related Trademark Agencies

During the 2026 INTA Annual Meeting, Mozlen, a leading AI-powered trademark search, analysis, and management platform in the IP industry, released its 2026 "MOZLEN500" global ranking of foreign-related trademark agencies. Sanyou was included in the "TOP100 AAA+++" list under the comprehensive ranking of China's 500 foreign-related trademark agencies, receiving key recommendations and steadily enhancing its industry recognition and international influence.

As Sanyou celebrates its 40th anniversary, this series of honors not only reflects the industry's high recognition of Sanyou’s professional capabilities but also serves as a heartfelt thank-you to our valued clients for their long-standing trust and support. Standing at a new starting point after four decades, Sanyou remains committed to its professional mission—deepening intellectual property services and safeguarding the high-quality development of corporate brands. We will continue to honor trust and pursue further success.

3. Condensed Core Data on Intellectual Property Judicial Protection by Chinese Courts in 2025

On April 20, 2026, the Supreme People's Court officially released the white paper The Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights by Chinese Courts (2025) at a press conference, presenting the core judicial data on the national IP protection efforts in 2025:

Overall caseload: Courts nationwide accepted 552,600 new IP cases of various types and concluded 539,600 cases. Key indicators, including the rate of cases concluded within the statutory period and the mediation/withdrawal rate, continued to improve.

Technology-related cases: Concluded 64,000 first?instance civil technology IP cases, strengthening protection in key core technology areas such as integrated circuits, industrial machine tools, high?end instruments, and basic software.

Trademark protection: Concluded 115,300 first?instance civil trademark infringement cases and 8,033 first?instance criminal trademark cases, reinforcing whole?chain protection for well?known trademarks, time?honored brands, and geographical indications.

Copyright protection: Concluded 256,400 first?instance civil copyright cases, increasing protection of cultural creators’ rights and promoting the use of “AI Copyright Aided Review” tools.

Competition and data: Concluded 10,135 unfair competition cases and 908 data ownership dispute cases (marking a year-on-year increase of 25.6), and 27 monopoly violations were adjudicated in accordance with the law.

Foreign-related trials: A total of 11,066 new foreign-related IP cases of first-instance were accepted, marking a year-on-year increase of 34.1. The rights and interests of both domestic and overseas parties were equally protected. The Supreme People's Court submitted 74 typical IP cases to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), of which 66 were selected for inclusion in the WIPO database.

China's judicial protection of intellectual property rights has demonstrated remarkable strength and effectiveness. The scope of protection has steadily expanded, the intensity of enforcement has continuously increased, and foreign-related protection has become increasingly robust. These achievements not only build a solid legal barrier for innovators but also provide clear guidance for the intellectual property service industry.

4. Summary of intellectual property trial trends in Shanghai Courts in 2025

In 2025, Shanghai courts accepted a total of 46,558 IP cases and concluded 47,240 cases, with a mediation and withdrawal rate of 67.56 for civil IP cases. Among them, 44,713 IP cases of first-instance were accepted and 45,270 were concluded. This includes 44,007 first-instance civil cases, of which 44,552 were concluded; 698 first-instance criminal cases, of which 713 were concluded; and 16 first-instance administrative cases, of which 7 were concluded.

Among the civil cases of first instance accepted, there were 22,960 copyright disputes, 13,454 trademark disputes, 4,560 patent disputes, 751 cases of unfair competition and monopoly disputes, 28 technology contract disputes, 1,163 franchise contract disputes, and 1,091 other IP disputes.

In 2025, 5,440 technology?related Infringement cases in key areas such as technical secrets, software, and patents were concluded, along with 4,129 cases in the digital economy field. Approximately 12,000 trademark infringement cases involving brands like "IKEA" and "Honor" were also settled, along with 710 foreign-related IP cases.

The compensation efforts have been further intensified. In 2025, the total amount of compensation awarded by courts across Shanghai reached RMB 2.03 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 12.2. Punitive compensation was applied in 46 cases, with a total compensation amount of RMB 170 million, representing year-on-year increases of 84 and 50 respectively.

5. Summary of Intellectual Property trial trends in Guangdong Courts in 2025

In 2025, the scale of intellectual property trials in Guangdong Provincial Courts continued to grow. Throughout the year, 120,787 new IP cases of various types were accepted, and 115,295 were concluded, marking an increase of 44.99 and 30.33 respectively compared to that of the previous year. A total of 70,520 cases were withdrawn, with a withdrawal rate of 62.34, reaching a new high in nearly a decade.

In 2025, Guangdong courts accepted 112,821 new first-instance civil IP cases, marking a year-on-year increase of 54.43. Among these, 106,810 cases were concluded, representing a year-on-year growth of 37.47. In terms of case types, there were 62,821 copyright cases, 24,865 trademark cases, 17,518 patent cases, 3,028 competition cases, and 4,589 other cases, accounting for 55.68, 22.04, 15.53, 2.68, and 4.07 respectively.

5,186 new civil cases of second-instance were accepted, and 5,587 were concluded; 460 cases were applied for retrial review, and 550 were concluded; 154 cases were retrial cases, and 173 were concluded. The settlement-to-receipt ratio exceeded 107 for all cases.

In the cases of first instance, 20,103 new technology-related IP cases were accepted, marking a year-on-year increase of 33.35. Among them, 19,637 cases were concluded, representing a year-on-year growth of 12.40. Specifically, there were 17,401 patent infringement and ownership dispute cases, 85 new plant variety disputes, and 41 technical secret disputes.

Among the newly accepted foreign-related cases, trademark disputes accounted for 81.62, while newly accepted trademark cases from Hong Kong and Macao accounted for 42.73. Throughout the year, 2,611 foreign-related IP cases and 279 cases involving Hong Kong and Macao were concluded.

In terms of criminal trials, 1,741 new first-instance criminal IP cases were accepted, and 1,744 were concluded; 330 second-instance criminal IP cases were accepted, and 317 were concluded. Among the concluded first-instance criminal cases, 835 were convicted for the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks, and 726 were convicted for the crime of selling goods bearing counterfeit registered trademarks.

In 2025, Guangdong courts applied punitive damages in 83 cases, with 15 of them resulting in compensation exceeding RMB 10 million, total punitive damages approximately RMB 487 million. Additionally, 3,128 cases of unfair competition and antitrust violations, as well as 61 malicious IP litigation cases, were adjudicated. 

In emerging fields, the Guangzhou Internet Court concluded 712 copyright disputes involving content generated by artificial intelligence throughout the year, and issued six judicial suggestions to copyright authorities on clearly marking "AI-generated content", continuously addressing new issues in the governance of AI copyright.