On December 26, 2020, the Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress of China voted to pass the “Amendment to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China (11)” (中华人民共和国刑法修正案（十一）), which will go into effect on March 1, 2021. The Criminal Law includes several articles for intellectual property crime and the amendments increase the maximum sentencing term. The amendments also add a new article somewhat similar to the US’ Economic Espionage Act potentially in …
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
China to Allow Foreign Patent Firms to Open in 3-Year Pilot Program
On December 25, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced (国知办函运字〔2020〕1154号) a 3-year pilot program to allow foreign patent firms to open up representative offices in Beijing and Jiangsu province. This is somewhat similar to what is already permitted for foreign law firms.
China Releases Amended Patent Examination Guidelines Focusing on Pharma and Biotech
On December 14, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Announcement of the CNIPA on Amending the Patent Examination Guidelines (No. 391) (国家知识产权局关于修改《专利审查指南》的公告（第391号)). This set of amendments focuses on pharmaceutical and biotech patent applications. The amended Guidelines go into effect on January 15, 2021.
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Guidelines for Enforcement of Intellectual Property Judgments
On December 10, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court released “Guidelines for Enforcement of Intellectual Property Judgments” (知识产权判决执行工作指南). The Guidelines have 29 Articles that cover the types of cases the Guidelines cover; enforcement of civil intellectual property cases; enforcement of intellectual property administrative cases; and enforcement of criminal intellectual property cases.