The Supreme People's Court has newly revised the regulations on civil case causes, adding multiple case causes such as standard-essential patents and data disputes.

The adjustment of the case causes of intellectual property cases has become the focus, including the addition of new case causes in emerging fields such as standard-essential patent disputes and data disputes, and the refinement and improvement of the classification of patent types and trade secret protection, which has attracted wide attention in the intellectual property circle.

On December 17th, the Supreme People's Court officially issued the "Decision on Amending the Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases" (Fa [2025] No. 226) and the "Notice on Issuing the Amended Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases" (Fa [2025] No. 227), making the third amendment to the "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases". In this amendment, the adjustment of the case causes of intellectual property cases has become the focus, including the addition of new case causes in emerging fields such as standard-essential patent disputes and data disputes, and the refinement and improvement of the classification of patent types and trade secret protection, which has attracted wide attention in the intellectual property circle.

Amendment Background: Meeting the Needs of the Times and Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection

In recent years, with the in-depth implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, China's intellectual property cause has developed vigorously, the number of intellectual property cases has continued to rise, and new types of disputes have emerged continuously. Driven by technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things, standard-essential patent disputes have become a pain point in the industry; in the development of the digital economy, disputes over the ownership of data and network virtual property have increased; in trade secret infringement cases, due to the vague distinction between technical and business information, more precise case cause guidance is urgently needed in judicial practice. At the same time, after the promulgation of the Civil Code in 2020, the national legal system has been continuously improved, and a series of laws have been formulated or revised, putting forward new requirements for the system of civil case causes.

The Supreme People's Court has always attached great importance to the work of civil case causes. Since the first issuance of the "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases (Trial Implementation)" in 2000 and its trial implementation since January 1, 2001, it has been amended and improved many times, including the formal issuance of the "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases" in 2008, the first amendment in 2011, and the second amendment in December 2020. Especially in 2020, in order to ensure the unified and correct application of the Civil Code, the Supreme People's Court made the second amendment to the case causes, which played an important role. However, with the development of the economy and society and the changes in trial practice, new types of civil disputes have emerged in an endless stream, and the original case cause system has been difficult to meet the actual needs. Therefore, it is imperative to make the third amendment to the "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases".

Against this background, the Supreme People's Court launched the third amendment, focusing on the adjustment of emerging disputes and refinement needs in fields such as intellectual property.

Multiple Intellectual Property-Related Dispute Case Causes Added for the First Time, Further Refined and Precise

In this amendment, the modification of the case causes of intellectual property cases is particularly noticeable. The amended "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases" comprehensively sorted out and refined the intellectual property-related case causes, aiming to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of intellectual property protection.

1. The First-Level Case Cause of "Data and Network Virtual Property Disputes" Added for the First Time to Adapt to the Development of the Digital Economy

With the vigorous development of the digital economy, the value of data and network virtual property has become increasingly prominent. However, due to the imperfect relevant laws and regulations, disputes over data and network virtual property occur frequently. Therefore, the amended case cause system specially added the first-level case cause of "Data and Network Virtual Property Disputes" for the first time, and divided it into two second-level case causes: "Data Disputes" and "Network Virtual Property Disputes"; at the same time, it further refined the specific case causes such as data ownership, data contracts, infringement of data rights and interests, as well as network virtual property ownership and network virtual property contracts.

Previously, network virtual property disputes were only the fourth-level case cause under the third-level case cause of "Network Infringement Liability Disputes". This time, it has been promoted by two levels; and data disputes have become the second-level case cause for the first time when they enter the provisions on civil case causes. This highlights the high attention of the people's courts to new types of civil dispute cases such as data and network virtual property.

These modifications help the courts to have laws and regulations to follow when hearing data and network virtual property disputes; at the same time, they also provide more clear rights protection paths for the parties, which is conducive to promoting the healthy development of the digital economy.

2. The Third-Level Case Cause of "Standard-Essential Patent Disputes" Added for the First Time to Cope with the Challenges of New Technologies

With the rapid development of new technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things, standard-essential patent disputes have increased. Such disputes involve the balance of interests between patent holders and standard implementers, and are difficult to handle. Therefore, the amended case cause system added the "Standard-Essential Patent Disputes" third-level case cause for the first time, and divided it into "Infringement of Standard-Essential Patent Rights Disputes" and "Standard-Essential Patent License Disputes".

In the current "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases" amended in 2020, the only case cause related to standard-essential patents was a fourth-level case cause of "Standard-Essential Patent Royalty Disputes" under the third-level case cause of "Patent Ownership and Infringement Disputes", corresponding to the "Standard-Essential Patent License Disputes" under the newly added "Standard-Essential Patent Disputes" in the newly announced "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases". This modification is the first time that standard-essential patent disputes have become a third-level case cause.

This modification helps the courts to more accurately grasp the nature of the cases and balance the interests of both parties when hearing standard-essential patent disputes. At the same time, it also provides a more clear rights protection path for standard implementers, which is conducive to promoting the balance between the promotion and application of new technologies and the protection of rights.

The author noticed that some academic circles previously held the view that standard-essential patent license disputes have the characteristics of both infringement disputes and contract disputes, and it is more appropriate to classify standard-essential patent license disputes as contract disputes.

Standard-essential patent license disputes have the characteristics of both infringement disputes and contract disputes. ... By analyzing the origin of the disputes in standard-essential patent license disputes through negotiation and interest appeals, it can be known that standard-essential patent license disputes originate from the interest disputes over the confirmation of the licensing conditions, and the essence of the disputes points to the confirmation of the licensing conditions. Compared with classifying standard-essential patent license disputes as infringement disputes, classifying them as contract disputes can better highlight the purpose, order and rationality of resource allocation in the special context of technical standards, and at the same time has triple litigation values: First, the consideration of good faith can be included in the calculation of the amount of damages, guiding the negotiating parties to return to the bilateral good faith negotiation framework; Second, it is conducive to restricting the overuse of injunction relief, thereby effectively avoiding the risk of the alienation of injunction relief; Third, it provides a reasonable basis for the temporary licensing system, thus exploring a more benign solution for such disputes.

Zhang Guangliang, Qiao Zixuan, WeChat Official Account: Intellectual Property Magazine Zhang Guangliang, Qiao Zixuan: Research on the Legal Attributes of Standard-Essential Patent License Disputes

However, from the perspective of the newly announced case cause provisions, this classification method will not be adopted by the courts in the short term, and whether there will be further adjustments in the future remains to be seen.

3. Refinement of the Case Causes in the Field of Patent Rights to Strengthen Patent Protection

In the field of patent rights, the amended case cause system classified and refined invention patents, utility model patents and design patents. For example, the original "Patent Ownership and Infringement Disputes" was refined into "Invention Patent Ownership and Infringement Disputes", "Utility Model Patent Ownership and Infringement Disputes" and "Design Patent Ownership and Infringement Disputes"; and the specific types of various patent disputes were further refined, such as false patents, disputes over the ownership of patent application rights, and disputes over rewards and remuneration for patent inventors.

This classification is more in line with the differences in patent types. For example, the creativity standards of utility model patents and invention patents are different. After refinement, it is convenient for the courts to conduct targeted reviews of infringement determination. This modification not only helps the courts to more accurately determine the nature of the cases and more quickly locate the focus of the disputes, improving the trial efficiency, but also provides more clear litigation guidance for the parties.

4. The Third-Level Case Cause of "Geographical Indication Infringement Disputes" Added for the First Time to Protect the Development of Characteristic Industries

Geographical indications, as the intellectual property marks of "local specialties", are the core competitiveness of local characteristic industries. In recent years, infringement disputes over geographical indications such as "Wuchang Rice" and "Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crabs" have occurred frequently, but in previous judicial practice, the inconsistent judgment scales were often caused by the vague case causes. In this amendment, the "Geographical Indication Infringement Disputes" was added as a third-level case cause for the first time, clarifying the rights boundary between the geographical indication right holders and the infringers.

For example, if an enterprise marks the geographical indication of "Wuchang Rice" on the rice produced outside the origin without permission, the right holder can directly file a lawsuit with the case cause of "Geographical Indication Infringement Disputes". The court can quickly review the infringement determination based on the case cause, avoiding the difficulty in providing evidence that may be caused by the general case cause before, and effectively protecting the brand value of local characteristic products.

5. The Third-Level Case Cause of "Drug Patent Linkage Disputes" Added for the First Time to Solve the Cross-Controversies in the Pharmaceutical Field

The drug patent linkage system is a key mechanism to balance the interests of original drug enterprises and generic drug enterprises, involving the cross-issue of drug listing approval and patent validity. In recent years, with the accelerated innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, the patent disputes between original drugs and generic drugs have become increasingly complex, such as disputes over whether the generic drug applicant falls within the scope of the original drug patent protection and whether it constitutes the "Bolar Exception". In this amendment, the "Drug Patent Linkage Disputes" third-level case cause was added for the first time, covering the core disputes such as patent confirmation and infringement judgment involved in drug registration applications.

For example, when a generic drug enterprise is sued for patent infringement by an original drug enterprise during the application for listing, the court can quickly sort out the cross-facts of drug approval and patent protection based on this case cause, shorten the trial period, and promote the balance between innovation and accessibility in the pharmaceutical industry.

6. The Case Causes of Disputes over the Return of Fees after Revocation Added for the First Time to Improve the Rights Relief Chain

In the fields of plant variety rights and exclusive rights of integrated circuit layout designs, there has long been a lack of clear case cause guidance on the return of fees such as annual fees and registration fees previously paid by the right holders after the rights are declared invalid or revoked, resulting in inconsistent handling standards in judicial practice. In this amendment, two third-level case causes of "Disputes over the Return of Fees after the Declaration of Invalidity of Plant Variety Rights" and "Disputes over the Return of Fees after the Revocation of Exclusive Rights of Integrated Circuit Layout Designs" were added for the first time, clarifying the basis for the right of claim for the return of fees after the rights are revoked.

For example, if a plant variety right of an enterprise is declared invalid due to a review oversight, the annual fees it previously paid can be claimed for return through the case cause of "Disputes over the Return of Fees after the Declaration of Invalidity of Plant Variety Rights". The court can directly review the legality of the fee payment and the conditions for return based on the case cause, avoiding the obstacles to rights protection that may be caused by the lack of case causes before, and improving the full-chain protection of intellectual property rights relief.

7. Strengthening the Protection of Trade Secrets and Adding Relevant Case Causes

Trade secrets are an important part of an enterprise's core competitiveness. In recent years, trade secret infringement cases have occurred frequently, affecting the innovation enthusiasm and market competitiveness of enterprises. Therefore, the amended case cause system added "Application for Pre-litigation Restraint of Infringement of Technical Secrets" and "Application for Pre-litigation Restraint of Infringement of Business Secrets" under the second-level case cause of "Cases of Applying for Pre-litigation Restraint of Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights", and added "Confirmation of Non-infringement of Technical Secrets Disputes" and "Confirmation of Non-infringement of Business Secrets Disputes" under the third-level case cause of "Confirmation of Non-infringement of Intellectual Property Rights Disputes".

In the current "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Disputes", the third-level case cause of "Infringement of Trade Secrets Disputes" under the "Unfair Competition Disputes" and its two fourth-level case causes of "Infringement of Technical Secrets Disputes" and "Infringement of Business Secrets Disputes", as well as the third-level case cause of "Trade Secret Contract Disputes" under the "Intellectual Property Contract Disputes" and its four fourth-level case causes of "Technical Secret Assignment Contract Disputes", "Technical Secret License Use Contract Disputes", "Business Secret Assignment Contract Disputes" and "Business Secret License Use Contract Disputes" remain unchanged.

These modifications help the courts to increase the punishment for trade secret infringement when hearing trade secret infringement cases. At the same time, they also provide more comprehensive rights protection means for the infringed parties, which is conducive to creating a fair and competitive market environment.

The New "Provisions" Keep Pace with the Times and Lead the New Trend of Intellectual Property Protection

In addition to the above specific modifications to the case causes, the amended "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases" also presents many new changes and highlights in the field of intellectual property.

1. Emphasizing the Practicality and Convenience of Case Causes

This amendment strictly follows the principle of practicality. The case cause system, based on the current effective legal provisions, fully considers the needs of the people's courts for civil case filing, trial practice and judicial statistics. The expression of the case causes is more concise, clear, convenient and practical, which is not only convenient for the parties to conduct civil litigation, but also convenient for the people's courts to conduct civil case filing, trial and judicial statistics work.

2. Paying Attention to the Scientificity and Systematicness of the Case Cause System

The amended case cause system is based on the classification of civil legal relations in civil law theory, and arranges the vertical system of case causes according to the content of legal relations, that is, the types of civil rights. In the horizontal system, through the design of a four-level structure of general and specific, the evolution of case causes from high-level (general) to low-level (specific) is realized. This scientific and systematic case cause system helps the courts to more accurately determine the nature of the cases and improve the trial efficiency.

3. Highlighting the Protection of Emerging Fields

With the rapid development of new technologies and new industries, the demand for intellectual property protection in emerging fields has been increasing. The amended case cause system fully considers this demand and adds a large number of case causes related to emerging fields, such as standard-essential patent disputes, data disputes and network virtual property disputes. These modifications fill the judicial gaps in emerging fields, avoid the confusion of "different case causes for the same type of disputes", help reduce the litigation costs of the parties, and are conducive to the courts to better handle intellectual property disputes in emerging fields, providing strong judicial guarantee for innovation and development.

The third amendment to the "Provisions on the Causes of Civil Cases" is an important manifestation of the continuous improvement of China's intellectual property judicial protection system. These adjustments are not only a simple addition or subtraction of case causes and an improvement of past regulations, but also reflect the precise response of the judiciary to the intellectual property protection needs in the new era, marking a key step towards "refinement and modernization" in China's intellectual property judicial protection system. The amended case cause system is more scientific, systematic and practical, which helps the courts to