BEIJING -- China has enhanced judicial protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) to support the country's key technologies and industries last year, a work report of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) showed Saturday.

According to the report submitted to the ongoing national legislative session for deliberation, China stepped up IPR protection in fields such as next-generation information technology, high-end manufacturing, biomedicine and new materials in 2024.

In the past year, the SPC effectively handled IPR disputes related to artificial intelligence (AI), supporting the lawful application of AI and penalizing infringement behaviors using the technology.

Chinese courts at all levels concluded 494,000 cases related to IPRs in 2024, up 0.9 percent year on year, according to the report.