BEIJING -- China has stepped up judicial protection of intellectual property rights to serve the overall development of the country, according to work reports of the country's top court and procuratorate.

In 2021, the Supreme People's Court worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other authorities to strengthen the IPR protection for the seed industry, the SPC said in a work report submitted Tuesday to the ongoing session of the national legislature for review.

Meanwhile, the SPC issued a judicial interpretation of punitive damages for IPR infringements, and imposed punitive damages on infringers in 895 cases, according to the report.

Chinese courts at all levels concluded 541,000 IPR-related cases of first instance in 2021, including cases pertaining to 5G communication, biomedicine and high-end manufacturing, to protect and encourage innovation.

Also last year, China prosecuted 14,000 people for crimes of IPR infringements, marking a 15.4 percent year-on-year increase, according to a work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Tuesday.

After the SPP established an office for IPR affairs, 20 provincial procuratorates strengthened comprehensive judicial protection of IPR by integrating criminal, civil and administrative procuratorial functions, according to the SPP report.