In March 2026, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of China released its sixth batch of “Top 10 Typical Cases,” signalling a major shift in the judicial enforcement of plant variety rights (PVR). These cases collectively demonstrate the evolution of China’s PVR regime toward a more robust, deterrence-driven, and enforcement-oriented framework that aligns with broader intellectual property (IP) protection trends. A key development is the increased use of punitive damages, marking

China has stepped up its crackdown on counterfeit agricultural products, with authorities imposing strict penalties—including lengthy imprisonment—for offenders. Recent cases released by the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate highlight crimes involving fake seeds, pesticides, and fertilisers. Offenders used deceptive tactics such as selling old seeds as new and mislabelling products to defraud farmers. In a major case, a man surnamed Liu was sentenced t