HAIKOU - A new intellectual property (IP) court based on South China's Hainan Island opened for operations on Monday, according to local authorities.

Named after the Hainan free-trade port, the new court covers IP-related civil, administrative and criminal cases in the province, such as those related to patents, technical secrets, computer software, new plant varieties and layout-designs of integrated circuits.

The scope of its jurisdiction is different from that of the current IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, which only hear civil and administrative cases.

A draft decision to establish the court was submitted last month to a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

The court is expected to improve the overall judicial protection mechanism of intellectual property rights and further explore judicial reforms, according to the draft decision.