On April 21, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court released a list of the top 10 intellectual property law cases of 2019. The cases cover patent (invention and design), trademark, copyright, unfair competition and criminal trademark law. Cases in the list were adjudicated by Courts spread over China and at different appeal levels.
Category: Copyright
China’s Copyright Office Releases 2019 Data
The National Copyright Administration of the People’s Republic of China released 2019 filing data showing an almost 21% increase in works registered for copyright year on year. The total number of national copyright registrations in 2019 reached 4,186,549, compared with 3,457,338 in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 21.09%. This compares with a 9% drop in patent filings in 2019.
Shanghai People’s Procuratorate Launches Criminal Prosecution of Lego Block Infringers
On February 26, 2020, the Third Branch of the Shanghai People’s Procuratorate launched a criminal prosecution against Li Moumou (李某某) and nine others for copyright infringement of Lego toys. From September 11, 2017 to April 23, 2019, Li Moumou and others produced and sold 634 types of infringing products with a volume of 4.24 million boxes and generating revenue of more than 300 million yuan (about $42.6 million USD). On April 23, 2019, public security organs seized more than 600,000 …
China Makes Significant Commitments to Improve Intellectual Property Protection in Phase 1 Trade Deal
In the Economic and Trade Agreement Between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China, Phase 1, dated January 15, 2020 China has made several major commitments to improve Intellectual Property protection. Chapter 1, which comprises 16 pages of the 94-page document, specifies improvements in trade secret protection; strengthening pharmaceutical-related Intellectual Property; granting patent term adjustments and extensions; preventing piracy and counterfeiting on e-commerce platforms; increasing transparency in geographical indications protection; preventing manufacture and export of counterfeit …