The number of intellectual property rights lawsuits that involve an overseas party saw a major spike in Shanghai last year amid an even higher increase in the overall number of IPR-related cases.

Shanghai courts handled 240 civil lawsuits involving a party not on the mainland in 2012, a 23.7 percent year-on-year increase, according to an IPR white paper released by Shanghai High People's Court on Thursday.

During the same period, Shanghai courts received 4,575 IPR-related lawsuits, a jump of 44.8 percent.