In yet another tough criminal sentence for counterfeiting of registered trademarks, the People’s Court of Hecheng, Hunan, China sentenced He XX to a 4-year prison sentence and 1.8 million RMB fine for counterfeiting registered trademarks of Western cosmetic brands including Dior, Hermes, Lancome, and SK-II. Since December 2021, He XX purchased, at low prices, perfume, lipstick, face masks and other foreign-branded cosmetics from unknown sources. Without obtaining the permission of the aforesaid registered trademark owner, He XX instructed employees to …
Author: Aaron Wininger
Aaron Wininger is a Principal and Director of the China Intellectual Property at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
China’s State Council Releases Opinions of the State Council on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Enhancing the Attraction of Foreign Investment
On August 13, 2023, China’s State Council released the Opinions of the State Council on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Enhancing the Attraction of Foreign Investment (国务院关于进一步优化外商投资环境 加大吸引外商投资力度的意见). The Opinions propose 24 policy measures in 6 aspects including two for intellectual property: strengthening the administrative protection of intellectual property rights and strengthening law enforcement regarding intellectual property rights.
China Prosecutes 11,675 People for IP Crimes in 2023 H1
According to a press release dated August 4, 2023 from the China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) 11,675 people were prosecuted for IP Crimes in the first half 2023, up 36.1% year-on-year. Criminal trademark infringement made up the majority of IP crimes with 10,384 people prosecuted accounting for 88.9% of the total. Copyright was second with 1,122 persons prosecuted. Trade secret misappropriation was third with 167 people prosecuted, up 89.8% year-on-year.
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Releases the “2023 Outline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country and Implementation Promotion Plan of the 14th Five-Year Plan”
On July 27, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the 2023 Outline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country and Implementation Promotion Plan of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2023年知识产权强国建设纲要和“十四五”规划实施推进计划). The plan has 139 points in groupings as follows: Improving intellectual property laws, regulations and rules; Reform and improve major policies on intellectual property rights; Improving intellectual property rules in emerging fields and specific fields; Strengthen the judicial protection of intellectual property rights; Strengthen the administrative protection of intellectual …