URUMQI -- China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region opened its first intellectual property rights (IPR) court in the regional capital city of Urumqi on Sunday.

The IPR court, established in the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court, will hear civil and administrative cases of first instance from Urumqi involving trademark rights, copyright, unfair competition and disputes over technology contracts.

It will also deal with civil and administrative intellectual property cases of first instance throughout Xinjiang regarding patents, new plant species, designs of integrated circuits, technical secrets, computer software, identification of well-known trademarks and monopoly disputes.

"The establishment of the IPR court will benefit local technology innovation and help to attract talent and more foreign capital," said Bahargul Semat, head of the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court.

Thanks to intensified crackdowns on IPR infringements in recent years, China moved up three slots in the World Intellectual Property Organization's global innovation index ranking of 2019 to claim the 14th position. It ranked first in the upper-middle-income group.

China's business environment is also improving. In 2019, China saw its ease of doing business ranking ascend to 31 from 46 a year ago as one of the top 10 most improved economies, according to a World Bank report.