On January 6, 2022 the Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court (上海第三中院) sentenced defendant Zhang XX for counterfeiting DuPont’s registered trademarks for pesticides and related products and was sentenced to two years and two months in prison and a fine of RMB 220,000. Further illegal gains and property was confiscated.
Author: Aaron Wininger
Aaron Wininger is a Principal and Director of the China Intellectual Property at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
Chinese Invention Patent and Utility Model Grants Both Up 31% in 2021
At the National Meeting of Directors of Intellectual Property Offices held on January 6, 2022, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) Director Shen Changyu released some initial data on 2021 intellectual property grants. Specifically, In 2021, the quantity and quality of intellectual property development indicators have both increased. In terms of creativity, 696,000 invention patents, 3.120 million utility models, and 786,000 designs were authorized, and the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people in my country (excluding Hong Kong, …
Vanillin Trade Secret Case Makes 2021 Top Ten Chinese People’s Court Cases
China’s official People’s Court News (人民法院报) announced the top 10 Chinese People’s Court cases for 2021 on January 6, 2022, which included one intellectual property law case – a trade secret case in which China’s Supreme People’s Court awarded 159 million RMB (~$24.9 million USD) to the trade secret holder. This is the largest ever trade secret misappropriation award reported in China. Other non-IP cases of note that made the list include the Lai Xiaomin case (who collected bribes totaling …
China Issues 115 Point Outline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country
On January 4, 2022, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published the 2021-2022 Outline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country and the Annual Promotion Plan for the Implementation of the 14th Five- Year Plan (知识产权强国建设纲要和“十四五”规划实施年度推进计划) comprising 115 points in 7 categories. The categories include improving the intellectual property system (i.e., amending the Anti-Monopoly Law); strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights (i.e., formulate interpretations re punitive damages in civil IP cases); improving the operating mechanism of the intellectual property market …