On 16 November 2020 the Supreme People's Court promulgated Several Provisions on Evidence in Civil Litigation Involving Intellectual Property Rights. The provisions came into force on 18 November 2020.

The 33-article provisions alleviate the burden of proof on IP rights holders and streamline the formal requirements for evidence sourced outside China. They also introduce penalties for evidence obstruction and touch on:

  • evidence preservation;
  • forensic appraisal;
  • evidence cross-examination; and
  • evidence recognition.

The provisions introduce the following mechanisms, among others:

  • The good-faith principle is specifically written into the provisions. Parties must abide by this principle when presenting evidence (Article 1).
  • The court will decide whether to require parties to provide evidence based on:
    • their claims;
    • the facts to be proved;
    • their possession of evidence; and
    • their ability to present evidence (Article 2).
  • The evidence that the court may require is no longer limited to documentary evidence. It may now require physical evidence, electronic data and audiovisual materials, among other evidence (Article 24).
  • Penalties for evidence obstruction are specifically written into the provisions. Where a court requires a party to submit evidence and the party refuses to do so without a justified reason, presents false evidence, destroys evidence or carries out any other acts that would result in the inadmissibility of the evidence, a presumption will be made that the opposite party's claim on the matters to be proved by the evidence is established. The party which fails to provide the required evidence will also be subject to a fine, detention or criminal liability, depending on the seriousness of the circumstances, if its act falls under the circumstances prescribed by Article 111 of the Civil Procedure Law (Article 25).