The SPC clarified three circumstances of joint infringement from the perspective of subjective fault

Recently, in an appeal case of Know-How infringement issued by the Supreme People's Court, the SPC clarified the circumstances of joint infringement from the perspective of subjective fault: one is jointly committed intentionally; the second is jointly negligent; and the third is that of the intentional act in combination with a negligent act, that is, if several actors have different degrees of subjective fault, but their respective acts are combined to cause damage to others, it can also constitute a joint infringement. If any of the above three circumstances is met, it can be determined that joint infringement is committed.

The Supreme People's Court held in the second instance that joint infringement refers to the act of two persons jointly illegally infringing upon the rights and interests of others and causing damage. Article 8 of the Tort Liability Law of the People's Republic of China (i.e., Article 1168 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China) stipulates: “If two or more people jointly commit tortious acts and cause damage to others, they shall bear joint and several liability." According to the provisions of this article, the following elements need to be met to constitute joint infringement:

The first is the plurality of infringement subjects, that is, there must be two or more subjects of joint infringement.

The second is to jointly commit infringements. From the perspective of subjective fault, the jointly performed act here mainly includes three situations: one is jointly committed intentionally, which is a typical joint infringement. The second is jointly negligent, that is, causing damage to others based on common negligence or overconfidence can also constitute joint infringement. The third is that of the intentional act in combination with a negligent act, that is, if several actors have different degrees of subjective fault, but combine their respective acts to cause damage to others, it can also constitute a joint infringement. If any of the above three circumstances is met, it can be determined that joint infringement is committed.

Third, it causes damage to the victim, and the damage is indivisible.

Fourth, there is a causal relationship between the infringement act of each actor and the damage consequences. In joint infringement, sometimes the tortious act of each actor can have different causative effects on the damage, but there must be a legal causal relationship. If there is no causal relationship between a certain actor's act and the damage, it should not constitute joint infringement with other actors.