In a October 21, 2021 announcement by the Shanghai Pudong Court, the court sentenced 69 defendants to imprisonment ranging from eight months to five years and nine months with fines ranging from 5,000 RMB to 11.7 million RMB (~$1.8 million USD) for the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks or the crime of selling commodities bearing counterfeit registered trademarks for Chanel, Cartier, Gucci and many other brands.
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 Submits Report to the National People’s Congress on Judicial Work on the People’s Courts in Intellectual Property
On October 21, 2021, the Supreme People’s Court of China submitted a report on the judicial work of the people’s courts on intellectual property rights for deliberation. According to the report, the average annual increase in intellectual property cases was 24.5% from 2013 to 2020, which is 12.8 percentage points higher than the increase in all litigation cases. Specifically, number of first-instance IP cases accepted by courts across China increased from 101,000 in 2013 to 467,000 in 2020.
USPTO Sanctions U.S. Patent Attorney for Renting out Bar Registration to Chinese Trademark Agency to File Trademark Applications
In a Final Order in Proceeding No. D2021-8 dated September 24, 2021, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office sanctioned a U.S. patent attorney for apparently renting out his bar number to a Chinese trademark agency. The agency then proceeded to file U.S. trademark applications on behalf of foreign applicants under the attorney’s name and bar number. This was presumably so that the foreign applicants could circumvent the the U.S. Counsel Rule, which sets forth a U.S. licensed attorney requirement for …
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration to Cease Issuing Paper Trademark Certificates
As announced on October 12, 2021, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will cease issuing paper trademark certificates from January 1, 2022. Registrants can instead download an electronic version. From October 15, 2021 to December 31, 2021, CNIPA will issue both paper and electronic registration certificates during this transitional period. This follows last year’s announcement that CNIPA would cease issuing paper patent certificates.