In the newly released China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) 2020 Annual Report (国家知识产权局2020年度报告) the number of invention patent applications filed in China in 2020 was 1.497 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%. Among them, there were 1.345 million domestic invention patent applications filed, accounting for 89.8% of the total, a year-on-year increase of 8.1%; there were 152,000 foreign invention patent applications filed in China, accounting for 10.2% of the total, a year-on-year decrease of 3.0%. Note China had ceased …
Category: Design Patent
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Releases Top Ten Cases of Patent Reexamination for 2020
On April 26, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Top Ten Cases of Patent Reexamination for 2020 (2020年度专利复审无效十大案件发布). The cases cover a variety of technologies including pharmaceuticals, wireless communications, business methods, and more. Multiple foreign companies’ patents were challenged including Bayer, Sharp, and others. Brief summaries with links to the patents and decisions follow.
Advice: Delay Filing Chinese Design Patents Until June 1, 2021
China’s newly amended Patent Law goes into effect on June 1, 2021, less than three months away. One of the many significant changes in the Law includes a 50% increase in design patent term from 10 to 15 years. However, no transitional measures have been released yet and it is likely the increased term will only apply to design applications filed on or after June 1, 2021 and not those filed before June 1 but still pending on June 1, …
Shanghai Fines Chinese Patent Firm for Filing ‘Irregular’ Patent Applications
As first reported by IPRlearn, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Market Supervision on February 5, 2021 has fined Shanghai Shangxiang Patent Agency Co., Ltd. (上海尚象专利代理有限公司) 30,000 RMB for filing 26 ‘irregular’ design patent applications.