In its handling of a series of criminal cases of intellectual property infringement, the Yuzhong District Procuratorate of Chongqing City delivered to citizens the first "Notice of Litigation Rights and Obligations of Obligees in Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement" to the infringed intellectual property rights holders in accordance with the law.

To fortify its penal protection over intellectual property rights and protect the legitimate rights and interests of intellectual property rights holders, the Supreme People's Procuratorate had issued earlier the Pilot Plan for Notifying the Litigation Rights and Obligations of Rights Holders in Criminal Cases of Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Plan).

According to the Plan, in handling of criminal cases of infringement of intellectual property rights, the prosecutor shall inform the obligee of his litigation rights and obligations at the stage of examination and prosecution, and is required, according to the specific circumstances of the case, to inform the obligee of his litigation rights and obligations in written or oral form, or by public announcement within 10 days from the date of accepting the criminal case of infringement of intellectual property rights transferred for examination and prosecution.

On March 11, 2021 a.m., in its handling of a series of criminal cases of intellectual property infringement, the Chongqing Yuzhong District Procuratorate served the "Notice of Litigation Rights and Obligations of Obligees in Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement " to an anonymous group company (hereinafter referred to as the Group). 

To better protect the infringed person's right to know, to participate and to remedy, and to improve the quality and efficiency of case handling, on March 11, Yuzhong District Procuratorate organized the Forum of Protecting Independent Property Rights and Famous Brands, where the litigation agent of the Group and the intellectual property service company of the infringed brand (Shanghai Xinzhengxin Intellectual Property Service Co., Ltd., hereinafter referred to as Shanghai Xinzhengxin Company) were invited for discussion. 

During the meeting, the court delivered the "Notice of Litigation Rights and Obligations of Obligees in Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement" to the Group in person according to law. Zhao Tan, the undertaking prosecutor, explained in detail to the obligee his rights and obligations according to law at each litigation stage, and told the obligee that the procuratorial organ would inform the progress of the case in time at important litigation nodes, and try its best to help the enterprise recover the losses in conjunction with relevant units.

Yuzhong District Procuratorate and Shanghai Xinzhengxin Company had an in-depth exchange on issues such as criminal filing jurisdiction, punitive damages for civil judgments, and raising awareness of intellectual property protection. The two sides jointly signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on Punishing Crimes Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights and Notifying Rights and Obligations, and had agreed to deepen exchanges and cooperation and actively promote the penal protection of intellectual property rights.

This is the first time the procuratorial organs in Chongqing have notified the trademark obligee by means of legal documents to ensure the full aware of the litigation rights and obligations and the litigation process, since the Supreme People's Procuratorate carried out the work of informing the obligee of litigation rights and obligations in criminal cases of infringement of intellectual property rights nationwide in February 2021.