The city's courts handled more intellectual property cases last year than in 2020, Liu Xiaoyun, president of Shanghai High People's Court, told legislators in a report to the ongoing Shanghai People's Congress.

The courts closed 47,000 intellectual property cases last year in the first instance, a 27 percent rise from the previous year.

Liu said the cases resulted from the enhanced legal protection of IP rights, especially for inventions and patents, key technologies and new industries.

Sanctions against infringement of copyright, trademarks and business secrets, as well as unfair competition, also contributed.

Last year, 2,109 people were accused by city prosecutors of intellectual property right infringements, 63.6 percent more than the previous year, Zhang Bencai, president of Shanghai People's Procuratorate told legislators.

The number accounted for one in seven in all of China last year, according to the procuratorate.