On June 20, 2020, the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China released their NPC Standing Committee 2020 Legislation Work Plan. The plan includes amendments to the Copyright law, a draft of which was already released earlier this year, and the Patent law, a draft of which was released over a year ago. Additional legislative projects relating to intellectual property law include promulgating a new personal information protection law and a new data security law.
Author: Aaron Wininger
Aaron Wininger is a Principal and Director of the China Intellectual Property at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
China’s Copyright Administration Issues Notice on Photographic Works
On June 11, 2020, the National Copyright Administration of the People’s Republic of China published the “Notice of the National Copyright Administration on Regulating the Copyright Order of Photographic Works.” The Notice confirms photographs are protected by the copyright law and specifically the exception to copyright protection under Article 5(2) for news does not apply to news-related photographs.
China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences’ Patent Application on Gilead’s Remdesivir Publishes
On February 4, 2020, the Wuhan Institute of Virology announced it applied for a patent for Gilead’s Remdesivir, which shows promise in treating COVID-19. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has apparently published the application with publication number CN111265532A entitled “Use of substituted aminopropionate compounds in the treatment of 2019-nCoV infection.” However, the applicant is the Academy of Military Medical Sciences instead of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (the Academy’s research partner). As first reported by 韩百科君, CNIPA is …
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation Releases National Plan to Combat Intellectual Property Infringement
On June 5, 2020 China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), which regulates market competition, monopolies, intellectual property, and drug safety, released a national plan to combat intellectual property infringement. The plan is officially entitled “Key Points of the National Work to Crack Down on Intellectual Property Infringement and the Production and Sale of Counterfeit and Inferior Commodities in 2020.” The plan lists 35 points in 6 areas covering trademark, patent, copyright, and trade secret protection and makes special emphasis …