[Jian Xu] IP Forensic Centers in China

To many overseas right holders enforcing their intellectual property rights, especially patent rights, in China, IP forensic centers remain either a new or a mysterious concept. Basically, those centers would be able to provide expert reports or conduct scientific experiments to assist the court in determining complicated intellectual property infringement matters, mostly patent matters or trade secret matters. Currently there are less than ten such centers which belong to various government sectors such as the intellectual property office, and the Minister of Science.

Since experts are much less used in Chinese patent infringement proceedings compared with Western practice, the existence of IP forensic centers does offer a chance to present credible expert opinion to the courts. Many courts have established working relationship with those forensic centers and are more receptive to their reports compared with reports issued by the interested parties themselves.

When approaching and selecting forensic centers for IP infringement, it's worth bearing the following tips in mind. 

1) The Forensic center selected must be the one specialised in IP forensic analysis.

2) The Forensic center must have good reputation and record among various courts.

3) The Forensic expert conducting/supervising the report must have good reputation and record too. Some courts will require the forensic expert to show up in the trial for cross-examination.

4) The Forensic center should have good connection to certified laboratories, as experiment reports are one of the most important elements in an IP forensic report.