China's Supreme People's Court has awarded nearly 33 million RMB (approximately 4.9 million USD) in a patent infringement case brought by a leading international agricultural science company (hereinafter the “Agchem Company”) against an industrial and Defendant (hereinafter the “Defendant”) and its legal representative. The court also held the legal representative jointly and severally liable for up to 2 million RMB (approximately 300K USD). Based on publicly available information, the judgment may be the largest final patent infringement damages award secured by a foreign company in China.

The case was led by GEN Law partners Jerry Xia, Simon Du, Ning Dong and James Ma, with support from team members including Melody Ye, Yiwen Chen, Lucy Cheng, Jason Shen and Kim Zhao.

First instance: Chengdu court awards maximum fivefold punitive damages

The patent covers an intermediate used in pesticide production. In early 2022, GEN Law filed suit on behalf of the Agchem Company in the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court, Sichuan Province (hereinafter the “Chengdu Court”) against the Defendant and its legal representative.

The alleged infringement was highly concealed and difficult to document. The underlying facts were complex, and obtaining evidence posed significant challenges. GEN Law analyzed public records and other available information, developed an evidence-gathering strategy and assembled a complete and rigorous chain of evidence before filing suit. The evidence addressed key issues, including the defendants' knowledge of the patent, making infringement their principal business, substantial profits from the infringing activity and obstruction of evidence production. During the proceedings, the team used courtroom questioning and burden-of-proof arguments to help establish the facts.

In 2024, the Chengdu Court found that the Defendant had infringed the patent and applied the statutory maximum multiplier of five for punitive damages. Based on publicly available materials, this appears to be the first Chinese patent infringement case to apply fivefold punitive damages.

Second instance: Supreme Court holds Defendant’s legal representative jointly liable

Following the first-instance judgment, GEN Law identified additional grounds for holding the Defendant’s legal representative jointly and severally liable. The team appealed to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China on the Agchem Company's behalf, seeking increased damages and a finding of joint liability. The Defendant filed a separate appeal.

Holding a legal representative jointly liable for intellectual property infringement generally requires proof that the individual personally committed infringing acts or shared a common intent to infringe with the company. That evidentiary threshold is difficult to meet.

GEN Law presented evidence that, during the infringement period, the legal representative was the Defendant's majority shareholder, actively participated in sales of the infringing products and knew of the patent. The evidence also showed that the individual had worked for other companies engaged in the same infringing conduct and facilitated transactions between those companies and the Defendant. Drawing on relevant case law, the team argued that these facts established joint infringement.

In its final judgment, the SPC adopted all of GEN Law's appellate arguments on behalf of the patent owner. It upheld the infringement finding and the award of punitive damages, and found that the legal representative was a joint infringer subject to joint and several liability, an uncommon outcome in patent cases. The court also awarded the full amount sought by the Agchem Company for damages and reasonable enforcement expenses, underscoring the Chinese judiciary's willingness to impose substantial penalties for willful infringement.

Parallel invalidation proceedings: Protecting the patent on appeal

While the infringement action was pending, the defendant also challenged the validity of the patent. GEN Law defended the patent in the parallel invalidation proceedings. The appellate decision addressed the standards for accepting amendments to Markush claims during invalidation and was included in the 2025 Summary of Key Judgment Points of the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court.

The result marks another significant intellectual property victory for GEN Law and illustrates the equal protection Chinese courts afford foreign companies. From the filing of the case in early 2022 through the final judgment in 2026, GEN Law worked with the client on litigation strategy, evidence development, technical issues, legal arguments, and the parallel invalidation challenge. The result combined a finding of infringement, substantial compensatory and punitive damages, joint and several liability, and preservation of the patent's validity.

GEN Law is honored to have helped the Agchem Company secure this landmark result. The firm remains committed to providing innovative companies with comprehensive intellectual property services throughout the life cycle of their rights.