On December 26, 2024, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Draft Amendment to the Regulations on the Protection of Integrated Circuit (IC) Layout Designs for comment (集成电路布图设计保护条例修改草案(征求意见稿)). IC Layout Designs are somewhat analogous to design patents or copyrights but specifically for ICs and are not examined substantively. Some highlights of the Draft include: Foreigners must use a Chinese patent agency (Article 5) Good faith requirement (Article 9) Restoration of rights (Article 11) Remuneration for creators required (Article 17) …
Author: Aaron Wininger
Aaron Wininger is a Principal and Director of the China Intellectual Property at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
China’s Supreme People’s Court Issues First Anti-Anti-Suit Injunction in Huawei v. Netgear
Following Huawei obtaining two anti-anti-suit injunctions (AASI) against Netgear on December 11, 2024 at the Unified Patent Court’s Munich Local Division and the Munich I Regional Court, China’s Supreme People’s Court also awarded an AASI in favor of Huawei against Netgear in a decision dated December 22, 2024. This is believed to be the first AASI issued by a Chinese court.
China’s National People’s Congress Releases Draft of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law for Comment
On December 25, 2024, the China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) released the draft Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL, 反不正当竞争法(修订草案)) for comment. From an IP perspective, the Draft updates Article 7 for newish technology. However, Artificial Intelligence is left out and might warrant a comment, e.g., to prevent LLM hallucinations that cause confusion as to a connection to others. The Draft also adds an extraterritorial Article 40 that might inadvertently snare foreign companies in edge cases. The Draft also covers other areas …
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Releases Statistical Data on Patent Licensing from 2019 – 2023
On December 20, 2024, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released statistical data on patent licensing in 2023 and statistical data on patent licensing from 2019 to 2023 including licensing rates for different technologies (国家知识产权局办公室关于公布2023年度及近五年备案的专利实施许可合同有关数据的通知). This data may be useful for determining market rates and therefore avoiding antitrust enforcement actions by the State Administration for Market Regulation.