On December 21, 2020, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court announced that on December 18, 2020, the Court ruled in several administrative trademark cases that the trademark registrants forged evidence to prove use in trademark cancellation proceedings. The registrants had provided fake tax invoices to prove use via the sales. However, the tax invoices didn’t match queries with the National Value-Added Tax Invoice Inspection Platform of the State Administration of Taxation. Accordingly, the Court reversed the earlier rulings based on the …
Author: Aaron Wininger
Aaron Wininger is a Principal and Director of the China Intellectual Property at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
Chinese Patent Application Filings Jump Almost 33% in November 2020 Month-on-Month
According to statistics released December 18, 2020, November 2020 Chinese invention patent applications filings jumped 32.7% versus October 2020. Similarly, utility model patent applications filings were up 28%. The number of cumulative invention patent applications filings in 2020 already exceed last year’s total filings and will make up for last year’s 9% drop in filings.
The China National Intellectual Property Administration Releases Guiding Cases for Administrative Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights
On December 15, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the First Batch of Guiding Cases for Administrative Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (第一批知识产权行政执法指导案例). Administrative enforcement enables rights holders in China to petition administrative agencies to enforce their rights including issuing injunctions, seizing and destroying infringing goods and manufacturing equipment, and imposing fines on infringers. The First Batch includes 5 guiding cases for administrative enforcement of patents, trademarks, and integrated circuit layout designs.
China Releases Amended Patent Examination Guidelines Focusing on Pharma and Biotech
On December 14, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Announcement of the CNIPA on Amending the Patent Examination Guidelines (No. 391) (国家知识产权局关于修改《专利审查指南》的公告（第391号)). This set of amendments focuses on pharmaceutical and biotech patent applications. The amended Guidelines go into effect on January 15, 2021.