BEIJING -- China will step up judicial protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) to support innovation-driven development, according to a work report of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Monday.

More efforts will be made to enhance the IPR protection of core technologies in key areas and emerging industries, said the report submitted to the ongoing national legislative session for deliberation.

Chinese courts at all levels concluded 466,000 cases related to IPR of first instance in 2020, up 11.7 percent year on year. The compensation for IPR-related offenses last year increased 79.3 percent.

In 2020, the SPC issued 10 judicial interpretations and normative documents related to IPR to facilitate right holders and increase the compensation for infringements, said the report.

China also improved the punitive damages system for IPR infringements and strengthened the role of SPC's tribunal for IPR-related cases.