BEIJING - Chinese courts heard 52,708 new cases of intellectual property right infringement from January to October 2011, up 42.2 percent from the same period of 2010, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

The number of IPR infringement cases heard by the courts nationwide has risen significantly since China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, from 5,265 in 2001 to 42,931 in 2010, with an annual increase of 26 percent, according to Sun Jungong, spokesman for the SPC.

"China has made great progress in the protection of intellectual property during the past 10 years." Sun said. "As the status of intellectual property has increased in national development, its judicial protection has become an indispensable part in the national development strategy."

In the field of new economic sectors, the judicial judgment on intellectual property will play an important role, such as setting up conduct standards and development guidance for the industry operators and even the industry orientation, Sun added.

In this regard, the SPC on Monday published a directive on better displaying the role of judicial judgment on IPR protection and promoting national cultural and economic prosperity.