On January 18, 2023 China’s Supreme People’s Court and China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate released the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement (Draft for comments) (关于办理侵犯知识产权刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（征求意见稿)). The Interpretation mainly sets thresholds for determining criminal prosecution, e.g., when there are “serious circumstances” in trademark infringement. The Interpretation will replace earlier Interpretations including the 2020 Interpretation.
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Issues Draft Amendment to the Trademark Law for Comment to Reduce Malicious Trademark Registration
On January 13, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Draft Amendment to the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (Draft for Comment) (中华人民共和国商标法修订草案（征求意见稿)). The Draft expands the Trademark Law to 10 chapters and 101 articles. Among them, 23 new articles were added, 6 new articles were split from existing articles, 45 articles were substantially revised, and 27 existing articles were maintained. Many of the amendments focus on reducing malicious registrations of trademarks and also introduces …
CNIPA Releases Interim Measures for Handling Examination Business Related to the Implementation of the Revised Patent Law
On January 5, 2023, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Interim Measures for Handling Examination Business Related to the Implementation of the Revised Patent Law (关于施行修改后专利法的相关审查业务处理暂行办法) effective January 11, 2023. The Measures cover design patents, grace periods, patent term adjustment, patent term extension, and other areas. These Interim Measures will supersede the prior Interim Measures effective June 1, 2021. A translation of the new Interim Measures follow.
China to Remove Infringing Pharmaceuticals from Procurement Platforms
In the “Opinions of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) on Strengthening the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in the Field of Centralized Pharmaceutical Procurement” (国家知识产权局 国家医疗保障局关于加强医药集中采购领域知识产权保护的意见) released December 30, 2022, the CNIPA and the NHSA will coordinate to remove infringing pharmaceuticals listed on central procurement platforms.