SHANGHAI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of intellectual property rights (IPR) trials in Shanghai hit a record high last year, according to a white paper released by the Shanghai High People's Court Monday.

Local courts in the country's business and financial center accepted 22,680 IPR cases and concluded 22,121 IPR cases in 2018, up 43.5 percent and 40.8 percent year-on-year.

Disputes over copyrights, unfair competition, franchise contracts, trademark rights and patent rights saw significant increases.

First instance copyright infringement cases surged 44 percent year-on-year to 16,874, with about 74 percent related to Internet copyrights.

Among all cases, there were three cases with the subject matter of court action valued at over 100 million yuan (14.9 million U.S. dollars) and 85 cases valued between 10 million yuan and 100 million yuan.

China has pledged to strengthen IPR protection through multiple regulations and establishing IP courts in Beijing and Shanghai.