From April 2 to April 20, in the lead-up to the 26th World Intellectual Property Day, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court conducted circuit hearings at four locations — Changyang Valley Park in Yangpu District, G60 Science and Innovation Cloud Corridor in Songjiang, Fengxian New City, and Jiading Industrial Zone — and jointly held a "Seminar on Trade Secret Protection" with the Minhang District Court at the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. By bringing professional adjudicative capacity to innovation frontiers and industrial frontlines, and through an integrated approach of "circuit hearings + legal education + roundtable exchanges", the Court extended its judicial services to support the development of Shanghai as a science and technology innovation center.

At Changyang Valley Park in Yangpu District, a collegial panel composed of judges He Yuan, Chen Yaoyao, and Bai Tingting heard a dispute involving infringement of utility model patent rights, with technical investigation officer Zhang Yinchao participating in the proceedings. Following the hearing, Judge Chen Yaoyao drew on the case to explain to enterprise representatives the relevant issues of patent protection, covering standards for determining infringement, common risk types, and preventive recommendations. Subsequently, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court, together with the Third Branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate, the Yangpu District Court, the Yangpu District Procuratorate, the Yangpu District Bureau of Justice, and the Yangpu District People's Mediation Association, conducted a joint research visit to Yangpu V-Space, focusing on cutting-edge developments in the content industry and gaining a deeper understanding of the new challenges faced by content creators in protecting their intellectual property in the era of artificial intelligence.

At G60 Science and Innovation Cloud Corridor in Songjiang, a collegial panel composed of judges He Yuan, Yan Shijie, and Bai Tingting heard a dispute involving unfair competition. Following the hearing, Judges He Yuan and Yan Shijie engaged with representatives from science and technology enterprises on topics including the establishment of intellectual property management systems, compliance risk screening, and challenges in gathering evidence for rights enforcement. On the same day, a concurrent session of the "Case-Based Legal Education" lecture series, jointly guided by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court, the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, and the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, was held at the same venue. Judge Bai Tingting delivered a lecture entitled "How to Guard an Enterprise's Secrets", providing an in-depth analysis of the adjudication approach and judicial reasoning in trade secret disputes, and offering litigation guidance to enterprises seeking to enforce their rights in accordance with law.

At Fengxian New City, a collegial panel composed of judges Hu Mi, Xu Tingzi, and Zhang Yi heard a dispute over copyright ownership and infringement. Following the hearing, the panel engaged in interactive Q&A sessions and roundtable exchanges with enterprise representatives. A concurrent research symposium on intellectual property protection for science and technology enterprises, jointly hosted by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court and the Fengxian District Court, was also held alongside the hearing. Technical investigation officer Zhang Yinchao delivered a presentation entitled "Patent Layout and Risk Defense — the Offense and Defense of Enterprise Patent Strategy", explaining to attending enterprise representatives how to formulate patent strategies during business operations. Judges Ling Song, Zhang Yinchao, Huang Zibo, and others also addressed questions relating to patent management, application and rights enforcement, trade secret protection, computer software copyright infringement, and the ownership of AI-generated content.

At Jiading Industrial Zone, a collegial panel composed of judges Qian Guangwen, Fan Jingbo, and Zhang Ning held a public hearing on an appeal case involving trademark infringement. Following the hearing, the panel conducted interactive legal education with the enterprise representatives present as observers, addressing questions of concern to enterprises one by one — including the boundaries of trademark use, the preservation of infringement evidence, and the selection of rights enforcement pathways — and translating specialized legal terminology into practical guidance that enterprises can readily understand and apply.

At the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, Judge Ling Song addressed common issues encountered by enterprises in trade secret management and protection, offering targeted recommendations on establishing a classified and tiered management mechanism, building a comprehensive confidentiality system, and improving confidentiality measures. Judge Huang Zibo analyzed the adjudication approach in cases involving technical secret disputes through typical cases and provided risk alerts for enterprises on protecting their technical secrets. During the interactive session, participants engaged in discussions on issues such as balancing trade secret protection with non-compete obligations, the scope of technical secret protection, and available protection methods.