BEIJING - A court specializing in intellectual property rights (IPR) opened in Beijing Thursday, in the latest effort to effectively handle IPR conflicts.

The court, which has four hearing rooms, has selected 22 of its 30 judges, each have an average 10 years experience of IPR cases.

The court will mainly hear administrative cases, in which plaintiffs sue authorities over IPR violations.

"We are really honored to be one of the first judges selected for the court. It is a huge responsibility," said Su Chi, head of the court.

The establishment of the court is in line with a proposal by the Supreme People's Court, which was approved in August by China's top legislature, to set up three special courts for IPR cases.

The other two, which will mainly deal with civil cases, are expected to open in Shanghai and Guangzhou by the end of this year.

Chinese courts hear about 110,000 IPR cases annually and this is expected to increase.