Per the “Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Amending the ‘Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China’” (全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于修改〈中华人民共和国专利法〉的决定), the China’s National People’s Congress has decided to amend China’s Patent Law. The amendments will go into effect June 1, 2021. The amendments increase damages, extend design patent term, and introduce both patent term extension and adjustments among other changes. An unofficial translation of the Patent Law follows with changes indicated by strike though and underline.
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
China’s National People’s Congress Approves Amended Patent Law
Per news reports from China’s Legal Daily and Xinhua, the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress completed the revision of the Patent Law on October 17, 2020. The newly amended patent law will come into effect on June 1, 2021. As of writing, the text of the amended patent law has not been released so it is unknown exactly what changes have been made from the most recent draft for comments. However, the reports …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Guiding Opinions on Trial of Civil Cases Involving Intellectual Property Rights of E-commerce Platforms
On September 13, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court released the Guiding Opinions on Trial of Civil Cases Involving Intellectual Property Rights of E-commerce Platforms (关于审理涉电子商务平台知识产权民事案件的指导意见). The Opinions may make takedowns of infringing products sold on e-commerce platforms easier and more common. As Mark Cohen, prior U.S. IP Attaché in Beijing and now at Berkeley, stated, the “The Guiding Opinion should further help implement obligations set forth in Section 1 (E) of the Phase 1 Trade Agreement regarding ‘Piracy and Counterfeiting …
China’s Draft Measures for the Administration of Trademark Agencies Should Further Reduce Trademark Squatting
On September 24, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Administrative Measures for Trademark Agencies (Draft for Comment) (商标代理管理办法 (征求意见稿)). While the measures mostly address the management of Chinese trademark agencies, several articles in the measures will be beneficial to foreign brands that have been and continue to be at risk of trademark squatting in China.