BEIJING -- China has stepped up efforts to provide clear guidance and enhanced juridical services for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), according to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) Sunday.

Courts and institutions have been set up to deal with intellectual property cases that require specialized knowledge, Li Jian, an official with the SPC, said at a press conference.

Approved by the SPC, special intellectual property courts have been set up in over 20 cities, including Nanjing, he added.

The SPC has also worked on improving procedure rules of IPR cases and reducing the cost of IPR protection, Li noted.

Chinese courts received more than 480,000 IPR cases in 2019, with over 470,000 cases concluded, according to Li.