On May 6, 2021, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released Draft Amendments to Several Provisions Regarding the Regulation of Patent Applications for comment (关于规范申请专利行为的若干规定修改草案（征求意见稿)). The Amendments aim to supplement and improve the definition of irregular (i.e., low-quality) patent applications; to clearly stipulate the examination procedures for irregular patent applications; and to update and improve the relevant handling measures for irregular patent applications. Note that Article 3(5) may limit the ability of IP-holding companies to file Chinese patent applications depending …
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
China’s National People’s Congress Releases English Translation of Civil Code Including Intellectual Property Law Articles
China’s National People’s Congress has recently released a translation of the Civil Code, which includes several intellectual property (IP) law related articles. Some of IP-related articles cover punitive damages for intellectual property infringement (Article 1185), the right of publicity (Articles 989 – 1001), and technology development and transfer (Articles 843 – 887). The IP-related articles are reproduced below for public record and ease of search. The full text in English is available here: Civil Code. The original Chinese text is …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases 5-Year Intellectual Property Judicial Protection Plan
On April 22, 2021, China’s Supreme People’s Court issued the The People’s Court Intellectual Property Judicial Protection Plan (2021-2025) (人民法院知识产权司法保护规划 (2021-2025年)) for implementation by lower courts throughout China. The Plan lists 5 main points: General Requirements (e.g., guiding ideology of Xi Jinping Thought); Giving full play to the functions of intellectual property trials (e.g., efficient litigation); Deepening the reform and innovation in the field of intellectual property trials (e.g., improve IP Courts); Optimizing the working mechanism of intellectual property protection …
China Releases Interpretation of the Measures Regarding the Regulation of Patent Applications That May Prevent Some IP Holding Companies from Successfully Prosecuting Patent Applications
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the “Measures Regarding the Regulation of Patent Applications” (关于规范申请专利行为的办法) on March 11, 2021. China is continuing the transition from quantity to quality in patent applications and one method is to reject ‘abnormal’ or ‘irregular’ patent applications as defined in the Measures. These measures and the concurrent elimination of monetary incentives for patent filings should decrease the total number of applications filed in China as quality increases. CNIPA itself is budgeting a potential …