On press conference of August 25th, Beijing Intellectual Property Court released its Manual for Testification in Civil Cases of Computer Software Copyright. At the conference, Vice President Song Yushui pointed out that civil cases of computer software copyright mainly include computer software ownership disputes, computer software infringement disputes and computer software contract cases. In the past eight years since its establishment, Beijing Intellectual Property Court has accepted nearly 5,000 civil cases of computer software copyright and concluded nearly 4,000 cases, with a rapid increase in the number of closed cases. Since May 1 this year, Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on the Jurisdiction of Civil and Administrative Cases of Intellectual Property Rights of First Instance has come into effect. Computer software contract cases will be under the jurisdiction of grass-roots courts, and the appeal court for such cases will be adjusted to Beijing Intellectual Property Court. In view of this, Beijing Intellectual Property Court has sorted out the common problems encountered in the trial of civil cases of computer software copyright for many years, summarized the experience earned in practices, and collected them into the manual released today. 

In computer software ownership and infringement disputes, the scope of court review generally includes ownership review as to whether the sued behavior or software constitutes infringement, damage consequences and tort liability. According to the law, the parties have the responsibility to provide evidence to the court for their claims. If the evidence cannot be given or is insufficient, they need to bear adverse legal consequences. In this regard, the Manual has given clear and specific regulations and suggestions on the burden of proof and how to render the evidence.