On November 25, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration announced a joint rectification campaign in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Security and State Administration for Market Regulation. The campaign will last three months and “seriously illegal agencies and practitioners will be investigated and punished strictly according to law, ordered to rectify irregular practices, and typical cases of illegal agency practices will be publicly exposed to quickly create a deterrent effect.”
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Releases Revised Guidelines for Patent Examination Effective January 1, 2026
On November 13, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Decision of the CNIPA on Revising the Guidelines for Patent Examination (国家知识产权局关于修改《专利审查指南》的决定). The Decision, effective January 1, 2026, revises the Guidelines, which are roughly analogous to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Manual for Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). The revisions clarify the relationship between patent protection and the new plant variety protection; provides examples of rejections based on social, public interest in illegality rationales; provides examples for …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Strips Internet Courts of Jurisdiction Over AI Copyright Cases
On October 10, 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on the Jurisdiction of Internet Courts (最高人民法院关于互联网法院案件管辖的规定) effective November 1, 2025. The 2025 Provisions amend the 2018 Provisions by removing Internet Courts’ jurisdiction over five types of cases including “copyright or neighboring rights disputes involving works first published online,” and “disputes arising from infringement of copyright or neighboring rights in works published or disseminated online.” The SPC explained that this will ensure “new, …
All-China Patent Attorneys Association Bans Members From Using AI to Generate Patent Application Documents and Engaging in Price Wars
On September 22, 2025, the All-China Patent Attorneys Association (ACPAA) released the revised Code of Professional Ethics and Practice Discipline for Patent Agents (专利代理职业道德与执业纪律规范) “to further improve the professional quality of patent agents, standardize the practice of patent agents, and ensure the high-quality development of the patent agency industry” in China. Two key changes include prohibitions against using artificial intelligence to directly generate patent application documents and maliciously lowering the price of patent agency services. Earlier this year, Nanjing banned …