The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced on March 4, 2020 that late fees for missed patent annuity payments will be waived if caused by the coronavirus epidemic. This expands on Bureau Announcement 350, which explained that patentees and applicants can restore their patent rights without payment of a restoration right request fee if lost rights were due to the coronavirus.
Author: Aaron Wininger
Aaron Wininger is a Principal and Director of the China Intellectual Property at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
Upcoming March 2020 Chinese Intellectual Property Law Conferences/Seminars
The following Chinese Intellectual Property law seminars may be of interest: Webinar: 10 Things to Know About the Chinese Patent Process March 12, 2020 How does Chinese patent practice compare to practice in the United States? Find out in a complimentary webinar presented by Aaron Wininger. The webinar will cover practice issues including expediting patent prosecution, reducing fees, formalities requirements peculiar to the CNIPA, and claim drafting. The emphasis will be on explaining CNIPA patent practice while highlighting the differences from …
Chinese Trademark Office Cracks Down on Malicious Filing of Coronavirus-Related Trademarks
In a notice dated February 27, 2020, the Chinese Trademark Office announced issuance of the Guidelines for the Examination of Epidemic Prevention and Control-Related Trademarks, which provides guidance on the examination of marks for the names of people involved in the epidemic, marks related to the epidemic virus and disease, marks related to epidemic-related drugs, marks for protective products (e.g., respirators), and other marks related to the epidemic.
Shanghai People’s Procuratorate Launches Criminal Prosecution of Lego Block Infringers
On February 26, 2020, the Third Branch of the Shanghai People’s Procuratorate launched a criminal prosecution against Li Moumou (李某某) and nine others for copyright infringement of Lego toys. From September 11, 2017 to April 23, 2019, Li Moumou and others produced and sold 634 types of infringing products with a volume of 4.24 million boxes and generating revenue of more than 300 million yuan (about $42.6 million USD). On April 23, 2019, public security organs seized more than 600,000 …