"We will make use of every minute to get our judges prepared for the country's entry into the global trade club,'' said Wang Zhenqing, vice-president of the Beijing High People's Court.

He was speaking at a seminar on intellectual property cases hosted by his court on Wednesday, the first of a series of events on the issue this year.

Wang said the new judges would meet an expected surge in intellectual property cases.

The amended Patent Law, passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress last week, stipulates that patent holders of industrial designs or refinements to existing products can appeal against judgments of the patent re-examination board.

"This will put more pressure on our judges,'' Wang said.

Beijing currently has 53 judges handling such cases in its five special trial divisions, according to the court.

Among them, two have doctorate degrees, 12 are law masters and four have two bachelor's degrees, Wang said.

These judges heard 507 intellectual property cases in the first seven months of this year, 58 percent more than in the same period last year, court figures indicate.

Better protection in the area and more efficient trials need more knowledgeable judges who should know at least one foreign language, according to court sources.

Wang said his court would offer a two-week training programme to all the judges in Beijing dealing with such cases in the next few months to help them get a more thorough understanding of the new legislation.

The judges will be taught about the WTO's Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and other international and bilateral treaties before China enters the WTO, Wang added.

(China Daily)