China has told the World Trade Organization it has withdrawn an “anti-suit injunction” policy that had limited some patent holders from pursuing intellectual property cases outside China, following a WTO arbitration ruling in a dispute brought by the European Union.
The WTO appeal arbitrator’s award relates to DS611, a case on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, the European Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
It described the dispute as focusing on standard essential patents (SEPs) — patents required to use certain industry standards, such as those used in mobile communications.
Chinese courts had been empowered to issue worldwide anti-suit injunctions in SEP-related disputes, which are provisional orders that can bar patent holders from starting or continuing litigation over non-Chinese patents in other countries. Those orders were backed by the threat of heavy fines.
What the WTO ruling said
On 21 July 2025, the WTO appeal arbitrator found that China’s unwritten anti-suit injunction policy breached the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
The arbitrator concluded the policy restricted SEP owners from enforcing their rights granted by other WTO members for non-Chinese patents.
After the award was issued, China officially stated at the WTO that it had withdrawn the policy.
China pointed to a notice issued by the Supreme People’s Court on 23 September 2025, and the notice is now accessible online from outside China after technical issues were resolved.
The European Commission said it would continue monitoring compliance because the policy was unwritten.
The EU has also brought a separate WTO challenge over another Chinese measure related to SEPs, with separate proceedings and obligations.
