Beijing Wei Chixue Law Firm--Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement By China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate（2025.4.7）

Fa Shi [2025] No. 5
Interpretation by China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement

(Adopted at the 1947th Session of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court on April 7, 2025 and the 51st Session of the Fourteenth Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on April 11, 2025, and enacted as of April 26, 2025)

For the purpose of punishing crimes of infringement upon intellectual property rights in accordance with law and upholding the order of the socialist market economy, several issues concerning application of law in handling criminal cases of intellectual property infringement are hereby interpreted as follows in accordance with the relevant provisions of laws including the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China in conjunction with the judicial practice:

Article 1 Where a trademark identical with a registered trademark is used on the same kind of goods or services without obtaining licensing from the owner of the registered trademark, it shall be determined that “the same kind of goods or services” stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law is satisfied under any of the circumstances provided below:

(I) where the name of the goods actually produced and sold, or the name of the services actually provided by the perpetrator is identical with that of the goods or services on which the use of the registered trademark of the right holder is approved;

(II) where the goods have a different name, but have the same or substantially the same functions, uses, main raw materials, target consumers, and sales channels, and is generally considered by the relevant public to be the same kind of goods; and

(III) where the services have a different name, but have the same or substantially the same purposes, contents, modes, objects, and locations, and are generally considered by the relevant public to be the same kind of services.

To determine “the same kind of goods or services”, a comparison should be made between the goods or services on which the use of the registered trademark of the right holder is approved and the goods actually produced and sold, or the services actually provided by the perpetrator.

Article 2 A trademark that is exactly the same with or substantially undifferentiated from a registered trademark so as to mislead the relevant public shall be determined to be “a trademark identical with the registered trademark” stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law. A trademark shall be determined to be substantially undifferentiated from a registered trademark so as to mislead the relevant public under any of the circumstances provided below:

(I) changing the font, letter case, or horizontal or vertical text layout of a registered trademark, having substantially no difference from the registered trademark;

(II) changing the spacing between characters, letters, digits, etc. of a registered trademark, having substantially no difference from the registered trademark;

(III) changing the color of a registered trademark without affecting expression of the distinctive features of the registered trademark;

(IV) adding to a registered trademark only elements lacking distinctive features, such as the generic name or model number of the goods, without affecting expression of the distinctive features of the registered trademark;

(V) having substantially no differences from the three-dimensional sign and the two-dimensional elements of a stereoscopic registered trademark; and

(VI) any other trademark substantially undifferentiated from a registered trademark so as to mislead the relevant public.

Article 3 Where a trademark identical with a registered trademark is used on the same kind of goods without obtaining licensing from the owner of the registered trademark, any of the circumstances provided below shall be determined to be the “serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law:

(I) where the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 30,000 or more, or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 50,000 or more;

(II) where two or more registered trademarks are counterfeited, and the unlawful gains is RMB 20,000 or more or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 30,000 or more;

(III) where a criminal or administrative punishment has been imposed for an act stipulated in Articles 213 to 215 of the Criminal Law and such an act is committed again within two years, and the unlawful gains is RMB 20,000 or more or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 30,000 or more; and

(IV) other serious circumstances.

Where a trademark identical with a registered trademark is used on the same kind of goods without obtaining licensing from the owner of the registered trademark, any of the circumstances provided below shall be determined to be the “serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law:

(I) where the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 50,000 or more;

(II) where two or more registered trademarks are counterfeited, and the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 30,000 or more;

(III) where a criminal or administrative punishment has been imposed for an act stipulated in Articles 213 to 215 of the Criminal Law and such an act is committed again within two years, , and the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 30,000 or more; and

(IV) other serious circumstances.

Where both a registered trademark for goods and a registered trademark for services are counterfeited while the unlawful gains from counterfeiting the registered trademark for goods is below the standard stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article, and a sum of the unlawful gains from counterfeiting the registered trademark for goods and the registered trademark for services reaches the standard stipulated in the second paragraph of this Article, it shall be determined to be the “serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law.

Where the unlawful gains or unlawful business turnover is ten times or more the corresponding standard stipulated in the first three paragraphs of this Article, it shall be determined to be the “especially serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law.

Article 4 Where goods counterfeiting a registered trademark, any one of the circumstances provided below can be determined as “knowingly” stipulated in Article 214 of the Criminal Law, unless there is evidence proving true unawareness:

(I) knowing that the registered trademark on the goods oneself sells has been altered, replaced or covered;

(II) forging or altering a trademark registrant’s authorization document or knowing that the document has been forged or altered;

(III) having been subject to a criminal or administrative punishment for selling goods counterfeiting a registered trademark and selling goods counterfeiting the same registered trademark;

(IV) purchasing or selling goods at prices significantly lower than the market price without justifiable cause;

(V) transferring or destroying evidence such as infringing goods and accounting documents, or providing false certification after the selling of goods counterfeiting a registered trademark is discovered by the administrative law enforcement authorities or the judicial authorities ; and

(VI) other circumstances where it can be determined as knowing that the goods counterfeiting a registered trademark.

Article 5 In the case of knowingly selling goods counterfeiting a registered trademark, where the unlawful gains is RMB 30,000 or more, it shall be determined to be the “relatively large amount of unlawful gains” stipulated in Article 214 of the Criminal Law; and any one of the circumstances provided below shall be determined to be “any other serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 214 of the Criminal Law:

(I) where the sales amount is RMB 50,000 or more;

(II) where a criminal or administrative punishment has been imposed for an act stipulated in Articles 213 to 215 of the Criminal Law and such an act is committed again within two years, and the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 20,000 or more or the sales amount is RMB 30,000 or more; and

(III) where the goods counterfeiting a registered trademark have not yet been sold, the inventory value reaches three times or more the sales amount standard stipulated in the first two paragraphs of this Article, or the sales amount of the goods that have been sold is below the sales amount standard stipulated in the first two paragraphs of this Article while a total of the sales amount of the goods that have been sold and the inventory value of the goods that have not yet been sold is three times or more the sales amount standard stipulated in the first two paragraphs of this Article.

Where the amount of unlawful gains, the sales amount, the inventory value, or the total of the sales amount and the inventory value is ten times or more the corresponding standard stipulated in the preceding paragraph of this Article, it shall be determined to be the “huge amount of unlawful gains or any other especially serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 214 of the Criminal Law.

Article 6 Where the identifying mark of another person’s registered trademark is faked or produced without permission, or the identifying mark of a registered trademark faked or produced without permission is sold, any of the circumstances provided below shall be determined to be the “serious circumstances” stipulated in Article 215 of the Criminal Law under:

(I) where the number of pieces of the identifying mark is 10,000 or more, or the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 20,000 or more, or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 30,000 or more;

(II) where the marks of two or more registered trademarks are faked or produced without permission, or the marks of two or more registered trademarks faked or produced without permission are sold, the number of pieces of the identifying mark is 5,000 or more, or the unlawful gains is RMB 10,000 or more, or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 20,000 or more;

(III) where a criminal or administrative punishment has been imposed for an act stipulated in Articles 213 to 215 of the Criminal Law and such an act is committed again within two years,, the number of pieces of the identifying mark is 5,000 or more, or the unlawful gains is RMB 10,000 or more, or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 20,000 or more;

(IV) where the identifying mark of a registered trademark unlawfully produced by another person is sold, and the number of pieces of the identifying mark that has not been sold is three times or more the standards stipulated in the preceding three paragraphs of this Article, or the number of pieces of the identifying mark that have been sold is below the corresponding standard stipulated in the preceding three paragraphs of this Article, but the total number of pieces of the identifying mark that have been sold and that have not yet been sold is three times or more the standards stipulated in the preceding three paragraphs of this Article; and

(V) other serious circumstances.

Where the number of pieces of the identifying mark, the amount of unlawful gains, or the amount of unlawful business turnover is five times or more the corresponding standard stipulated in the preceding paragraphs of this Article, it shall be determined to be the “especially serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 215 of the Criminal Law.

Article 7 The “two or more registered trademarks” referred to in this Interpretation refers to two or more registered trademarks that identify different sources of goods or services. Provided that the registered trademarks are different, but are used on the same kind of goods or services and indicate the same source of goods or services, they should not be determined to be “two or more registered trademarks”.

The “piece” of the identifying mark of a registered trademark referred to in this Interpretation refers generally to one identifying mark marked with the complete pattern of the trademark. Several identifying mark patterns printed on one tangible carrier which cannot be used individually apart from the tangible carrier shall be determined to be one piece of label.

Article 8 Whoever not only commits the crime of counterfeiting a registered trademark as stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law but also sells goods counterfeiting a registered trademark, whereby a crime is constituted, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of counterfeiting a registered trademark under Article 213 of the Criminal Law.

Whoever not only commits the crime of counterfeiting a registered trademark as stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law but also knowingly sells another person’s goods counterfeiting a registered trademark, whereby a crime is constituted, shall be punished concurrently for multiple offenses.

Article 9 Any of the circumstances provided below shall be determined to “counterfeit other people’s patents” stipulated in Article 216 of the Criminal Law:

(I) forging or altering another person’s patent certificate, patent document or patent application document;

(II) marking, without licensing, another person’s patent number on products or packages of products manufactured or sold; and

(III) using, without licensing, another person’s patent number in a contract, product manual, or publicity materials such as advertisement, so as to cause confusion with the another person’s invention, utility model, or design.

Article 10 Where a person counterfeits another person’s patent, any of the circumstances provided below shall be determined to be the “serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 216 of the Criminal Law:

(I) where the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 100,000 or more or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 200,000 or more;

(II) causing a direct economic loss of RMB 300,000 or more to the patentee;

(III) counterfeiting two or more patents of other people, with the amount of unlawful gains reaching RMB 50,000 or more or the amount of unlawful business turnover RMB 100,000 or more;

(IV) where a criminal or administrative punishment has been imposed for conducting the act of counterfeiting another person’s patent and such an act is committed again within two years,, and the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 50,000 or more or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 100,000 or more; and

(V) other serious circumstances.

Article 11 Where an act of infringing upon a copyright or a right related to copyright is conducted without authorization of the copyright owner, the producer of audio or video recording, or the performer, or the authorization or licensing document is faked or altered, or the scope of authorization is exceeded, it shall be determined to be “without the permission of the copyright owner”, “without the permission of the producer of audio or video recording”, or “without the permission of the performer” stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law.

A natural person, legal person or unincorporated organization that affixes its signature in a customary manner to the work or audio or video recording stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law shall be presumed to be the copyright owner or the producer of audio or video recording, and shall have corresponding rights in relation to the work or audio or video recording, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

In a case involving multiple works or audio or video recordings in dispute and scattered rights holders, where there is evidence that the work or the audio or video recording in dispute is illegally published, reproduced and distributed, or communicated to the public through information network, and the publisher, reproducer and distributor, and information network communicator fails to provide relevant evidentiary materials for obtaining permission from the copyright owner, audio or video recording producer, or performer, it can be determined to be “without the permission of the copyright owner”, “without the permission of the audio or video recording producer”, or “without the permission of the performer” stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law, except where there is evidence that the right holder has waived his/her rights, where the copyright of the work in dispute or the right in relation to audio or video recordings or the right of the performer is not protected under China’s Copyright Law, or where the term for protection of the rights has expired, and so on.

Article 12 The act of not only reproducing but also distributing, or reproducing for the purpose of distribution, a work or an audio or video recording without the permission of the copyright owner or the owner of rights related to the copyright shall be determined to be the “reproduction and distribution” stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law.

The act of providing, without the permission of the copyright owner or the owner of rights related to the copyright, works, audio or video recordings, or performances to the public in a wired or wireless way such that they are available to the public at a time and place of choice shall be determined to “communicate to the public through an information network” stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law.

Article 13 Where an act of infringing upon a copyright or a right related to copyright as stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law is conducted and the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 30,000 or more, any of the circumstances provided below shall be determined to be “a relatively large unlawful gains” stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law; and shall be determined to be “any other serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law:

(I) the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 50,000 or more;

(II) where a criminal or administrative punishment has been imposed for an act stipulated in Article 217 or Article 218 of the Criminal Law and such an act is committed again within two years, and the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 20,000 or more or the amount of unlawful business turnover is RMB 30,000 or more;

(III) where another person’s work or audio or video recording is reproduced and distributed, and a total number of pieces of reproduction is 500 or more;

(IV) where another person’s work, audio or video recording or performance is communicated to the public through an information network, and a total number is 500 pieces (volumes) or more, or the number of downloads is 10,000 or more, or the number of click is 100,000 or more, or in a membership system, the amount of registered members is 1,000 or more; and

(V) where the amount or quantity does not reach the standards stipulated in the first to fourth paragraphs of this Article, but reaches half or more of each of two or more items of the standards.

Whoever knowingly provides another person who is committing copyright infringement with devices or components used mainly to circumvent or destroy technical measures, or provides technical services for another person to circumvent or destroy technical measures, where the amount of unlawful gains or unlawful business turnover reaches the corresponding standard stipulated in the preceding paragraphs, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility for the crime of copyright infringement.

Where the amount or quantity is ten times or more the corresponding standard stipulated in the first two paragraphs of this Article, it shall be determined to be the “huge amount of unlawful gains or any other especially serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law.

Article 14 Where an infringing reproduction set forth in Article 217 of the Criminal Law is sold knowingly and the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 50,000 or more, it shall be determined to be the “huge amount of unlawful gains” stipulated in Article 218 of the Criminal Law; and any circumstances provided below shall be determined to be “any other serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 218 of the Criminal Law:

(I) where the sales amount is RMB 100,000 or more;

(II) where a criminal or administrative punishment has been imposed for an act stipulated in Article 217 or Article 218 of the Criminal Law and such an act is committed again within two years, and the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 30,000 or more or the sales amount is RMB 50,000 or more;

(III) where another person’s work or audio or video recording is sold, the total number of pieces of reproduction is 1,000 or more; and

(IV) where the infringing reproductions have not yet been sold, the inventory value or the number of pieces of infringing reproductions is three times or more the corresponding standard stipulated in the first three paragraphs of this Article; or the sales amount or the number of pieces of the infringing reproductions that have been sold is below the corresponding standard stipulated in the first three paragraphs of this Article, but the sum of the sales amount of the infringing reproductions that have been sold and the inventory value of the infringing reproductions that have not been sold or the sum of the number of pieces of the sold and unsold infringing reproductions is three times or more the corresponding standard stipulated in the first three paragraphs of this Article.

Article 15 Whoever not only commits the crime of copyright infringement stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law but also sells the infringing reproductions, whereby a crime is constituted, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of copyright infringement under Article 217 of the Criminal Law.

Whoever not only commits the crime of copyright infringement stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law but also knowingly sells the infringing reproductions of another person’s work, whereby a crime is constituted, shall be punished concurrently for multiple offenses.

Article 16 Where a trade secret is obtained by unlawful reproduction or other means, it shall be determined to be the “theft” stipulated in item 1 of paragraph 1 of Article 219 of the Criminal Law; where a trade secret is obtained by exploiting computer information system without or beyond authorization, it shall be determined to be the “electronic intrusion” stipulated in item 1 of paragraph 1 of Article 219 of the Criminal Law.

Article 17 Where infringement upon a trade secret is constituted, any of the circumstances provided below shall be determined to be the “serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 219 of the Criminal Law:

(I) where the amount of loss caused to the right holder of a trade secret is RMB 300,000 or more;

(II) where the amount of unlawful gains from trade secret infringement is RMB 300,000 or more;

(III) where a criminal or administrative punishment has been imposed for an act stipulated in Article 219 or Article 219(I) of the Criminal Law and such an act is committed again within two years, and the amount of loss caused or the amount of unlawful gains is RMB 100,000 or more; and

(IV) other serious circumstances.

Where the infringement upon a trade secret directly leads to the bankruptcy or closure of the business of the right holder of the trade secret due to major operational difficulties, or the amount is ten times or more the corresponding standard stipulated in the preceding paragraphs of this Article, it shall be determined to be the “especially serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 219 of the Criminal Law.

Article 18 The “amount of loss” caused by infringement upon a trade secret prescribed in this Interpretation shall be determined by the following methods:

(I) where a right holder’s trade secret is obtained by improper means and has not yet been disclosed, used or allowed to be used by another person, the amount of loss may be determined based on the reasonable license fee for the trade secret;

(II) where a right holder’s trade secret is obtained by improper means and has been disclosed, used or allowed to be used by another person, the amount of loss may be determined based on the right holder’s loss of profit caused by infringement, unless the amount of loss is lower than the reasonable license fee, where it shall be determined based on the reasonable license fee for the trade secret;

(III) where the trade secret in possession is disclosed, used, or allowed to be used by another person in violation of the obligation of confidentiality or the right holder’s requirement to keep the trade secret confidential, the amount of loss may be determined based on the right holder’s loss of profit caused by infringement;

(IV) where the trade secret is obtained, disclosed, used, or allowed to be used by another person knowing that the trade secret is obtained by improper means or disclosed, used, or allowed to be used by another person in violation of the obligation of confidentiality or the right holder’s requirement to keep the trade secret confidential, the amount of loss may be determined based on the right holder’s loss of profit caused by infringement; and

(V) where an act of trade secret infringement causes the trade secret to be known to the public or lost, the amount of loss may be determined based on the commercial value of the trade secret. The commercial value of a trade secret may be determined comprehensively based on such factors as the research and development costs of the trade secret, the proceeds obtained from exploitation of the trade secret, and so on.

The right holder’s loss of profit caused by infringement stipulated in subparagraphs (II) to (IV) of this Article may be determined by multiplying the total of the decreased sales volume of the right holder’s product due to the infringement by the reasonable profit per unit of the right holder; where the total of the decreased sales volume of the product cannot be determined, it may be determined by multiplying the sales volume of the infringing product by the reasonable profit per unit of the right holder. Where the trade secret is used for services or other business activities, the amount of loss may be determined based on the reasonable amount of profit decreased incurred to the right holder due to the infringement.

The remedial expenses incurred to the right holder of a trade secret to mitigate the damage to the business operation or business plan or to restore the security of computer information system and other systems shall be taken in account of the loss incurred to the right holder of the trade secret.

Article 19 The “amount of unlawful gains” from infringement upon a trade secret stipulated in this Interpretation refers to the value of the property or any other property benefits obtained by disclosing or allowing any other person to use a trade secret, or the profit obtained by exploiting a trade secret. Such profit can be determined by multiplying the sales volume of the infringing product by the reasonable profit per unit of the infringing product.

Article 20 Where a trade secret is stolen, pried, bought, or unlawfully provided for an institution, organization, or individual located overseas under any of the circumstances stipulated in Article 17 of this Interpretation, it shall be determined to be the “serious circumstance” stipulated in Article 219 of the Criminal Law.

Article 21 Where in criminal proceedings, a party, a defender, an agent ad litem, or an outer party applies in writing for confidentiality measures for evidence or materials concerning trade secrets or other commercial information that needs to be kept confidential, necessary confidentiality measures shall be taken depending on the circumstances of the case, for example, organizing the litigation participants to sign a confidentiality commitment letter.

Whoever violates the requirements for confidentiality measures stipulated in the preceding paragraph or the obligation of confidentiality stipulated by laws and regulations shall bear corresponding liability in accordance with law. Whoever discloses, uses or allows any other person to use a trade secret accessed or obtained in criminal proceedings without authorization, whereby a crime is constituted, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

Article 22 Whoever conducts an act provided below knowing that another person has committed a crime of intellectual property infringement shall be treated as a joint offender, unless otherwise provided by law or judicial interpretation:

(I) assisting in providing the main raw materials, auxiliary materials, semi-finished products, packaging materials, machinery and equipment, tags and labels, production technology, formulas, etc. for the production or manufacture of infringing products;

(II) providing services such as loans, funds, accounts, licenses and certificates, or payment and settlement;

(III) providing production or business premises or services such as transportation, warehousing, storage, express delivery, and mailing;

(IV) providing technical support such as Internet access, server hosting, network storage, and communication transmission; and

(V) other circumstances of assisting crimes of infringement upon intellectual property rights.

Article 23 Whoever commits a crime of infringement upon intellectual property rights shall generally be given a heavier punishment as appropriate under any of the following circumstances:

(I) taking infringement upon intellectual property rights as the main business;

(II) registering a trademark for goods or services pretending to be emergency rescue and disaster relief or epidemic prevention supplies during the period of a major natural disaster, accident or disaster, or public health incident; and

(III) refusing to surrender the unlawful gains.

Article 24 Whoever commits a crime of infringement upon intellectual property rights shall generally be given a lighter punishment in accordance with law under any of the following circumstances:

(I) pleading guilty and accepting punishment;

(II) gaining forgiveness of the right holder;

(III) having not disclosed, used or allowed any other person to use the right holder’s trade secret obtained by improper means.

Where the circumstance of a crime is minor, the prosecution may be waived or the criminal punishment may not be imposed in accordance with law. Where the circumstance is significantly minor and the harm is not serious, it shall not be treated as a crime.

Article 25 Whoever commits a crime of infringement upon intellectual property rights shall be sentenced to a fine in accordance with law based on comprehensive consideration of the amount of unlawful gains or unlawful business turnover from the crime, the amount of loss incurred to a right holder, the quantity of the infringing counterfeit articles, the severity of social harm, and other circumstances.

The fine is generally determined between one time and ten times the amount of unlawful gains. Where the amount of unlawful gains cannot be ascertained, the fine is generally determined between 50% and 100% of the amount of unlawful business turnover. Where neither of the amount of unlawful gains and the unlawful business turnover can be ascertained, and a sentence of fixed-term imprisonment of no more than 3 years, criminal detention or a separate fine is imposed, the fine is generally determined between RMB 30,000 and RMB 1,000,000; and where a sentence of fixed-term imprisonment of no less than 3 years is imposed, the fine is generally determined between RMB 150,000 and RMB 5,000,000.

Article 26 Where an entity commits any of the acts stipulated in Article 213 through Article 219(I) of the Criminal Law, the entity shall be sentenced to a fine, and its directly liable executive staff and other directly liable persons shall be punished in accordance with the conviction and sentencing standards stipulated in this Interpretation.

Article 27 Except for special circumstances, goods counterfeiting a registered trademark, the mark of a registered trademark unlawfully manufactured, copyright-infringing reproductions, and materials and tools used mainly to manufacture goods counterfeiting a registered trademark, the mark of a registered trademark unlawfully manufactured, or infringing reproductions shall be confiscated and destroyed in accordance with law.

Where the above-mentioned articles are required for use as evidence in a civil or administrative case, they may, upon application of the right holder, be sampled or photographed or by other means preserved as evidence before being destroyed after closure of the civil or administrative case.

Article 28 The “amount of unlawful business turnover” referred to in this Interpretation refers to the value of the infringing product manufactured, stored, transported, and sold by the perpetrator in the course of committing an act of infringement upon intellectual property rights. The value of the infringing products that have been sold shall be calculated according to the actual sales price. The value of the infringing products that have not yet been sold shall be calculated according to the average actual sales price of the infringing product that has been ascertained. Where the average actual sales price cannot be ascertained, the calculation shall be based on the marked price of the infringing product. Where the actual sales price cannot be ascertained or the price is not marked on the infringing product, the calculation shall be based on the median market price of the genuine product.

The “inventory value” referred to in this Interpretation shall be determined according to the value of the intellectual property-infringing product that has not yet been sold as stipulated in the preceding paragraph.

The “sales amount” referred to in this Interpretation refers to the total unlawful gains obtained by and due to the perpetrator from selling the infringing product in the course of committing an act of infringement upon intellectual property rights.

The “amount of unlawful gains” referred to in this Interpretation refers to an amount obtained by deducting, from the total unlawful gains earned by and due to the perpetrator from selling the product that infringes upon intellectual property rights, the purchase cost of raw materials or products sold, or, where a service is provided, by deducting the purchase cost of the product used in the service. Where profits are made by, e.g. charging service fees, membership fees or advertising fees, the fees collected shall be determined to be the “unlawful gains”.

Article 29 Where an act of infringing upon intellectual property rights is conducted repeatedly and has not been handled and should be prosecuted in accordance with law, the amounts, quantities, etc. involved in conviction and sentencing shall be calculated cumulatively, separately.

For a product that has been made but has not yet been affixed or fully affixed with a label of a false registered trademark, where there is evidence that the product will counterfeit another person’s registered trademark, its value is taken into account in the amount of unlawful business turnover.

Article 30 Where a people’s court accepts a criminal private prosecution case involving infringement upon intellectual property rights in accordance with law, for evidence a party is unable to collect evidence for objective reasons, provided that the party can provide relevant clues upon filing the private prosecution and applies to the people’s court for investigation and collection of the evidence, the people’s court shall investigate and collect the evidence in accordance with law.

Article 31 This interpretation shall come into force as of April 26, 2025.

After this Interpretation is enacted, the Interpretation by China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning Specific Application of Law to Handling of Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement (Fa Shi [2014] No. 19), the Interpretation (II) by China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning Specific Application of Law to Handling of Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement (Fa Shi [2007] No. 6), the Interpretation (III) by China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning Specific Application of Law to Handling of Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement (Fa Shi [2020] No. 10), and the Reply of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate to Relevant Issues of Handling Criminal Cases of Infringing upon Copyright concerning Audio-visual Fixation (Fa Shi [2005] No. 12) are abolished at the same time.

In case of any discrepancies between this Interpretation and the judicial interpretations and normative documents issued previously before this Interpretation comes into force, this Interpretation shall prevail.