2023 EU-China judicial forum concluded in Suzhou

European and Chinese judges can already claim long-lasting and productive judicial cooperation. This cooperation began with an EU-China judges forum, held in February 2016, supported by IP Key. Both the forum, and notably the follow-up workshop, reflected the mutual interest in peer-to-peer exchanges and the sharing of best practices, as well as building a foundation for continuous cooperation.

This year, IP Key China co-organised an EU-China judicial forum with the Supreme People’s Court on 18-19 September. Senior judges and high-level government officials spoke at the forum, including the president of the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), the presiding judge of the local division of the UPC in The Hague, the president of the Jiangsu High People’s Court, the vice president of the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court, the Mayor of Suzhou, and many more.

At the beginning of the forum, the IP Key China project leader, Ms Gyta Berasneviciute-Singh, welcomed the participants: “We are very pleased that this year's cooperation on IPR continues, with strong collaboration from the Supreme People´s Court, providing possibilities to address key issues, share information and discuss topics of common interest.”

The vice president of the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People’s Court, Mr He Zhonglin, mentioned: "The IP Key China project plays a crucial role as a bridge for China and the EU to strengthen judicial exchanges and cooperation in intellectual property enforcement and create a stable, transparent, and fair international environment for intellectual property rights. It is hoped that we will further strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with the European Unified Patent Court, intellectual property judicial institutions and intellectual property judges in Europe, and jointly expand cooperation.

The forum was held as a closed-door meeting, which provided an opportunity for both the EU and Chinese judges, officials and academia to share their experiences and challenges on IP protection and enforcement in a judicial environment.