On June 28, 2024, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced it reached an agreement with the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office and the Egyptian Patent Office on the extension of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot projects. Both PPH pilot projects will be extended for another five years from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
China’s Supreme People’s Court: Drug Patent Reverse Payment Agreements May Violate the Anti-Monopoly Law
On June 24, 2024, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the “Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Disputes over Monopoly” (最高人民法院关于审理垄断民事纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的解释). As it relates specifically to patents, the Interpretation states that drug patent reverse payment agreements may violate the Anti-Monopoly Law. Reverse payments involve a drug patent holder paying an alleged infringer or potential infringer, usually a generic manufacturer, to stop the alleged or potential infringement so …
China Launches Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO)
On June 6, 2024, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced the launch of China-Africa Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) allowing for accelerated examination of patent applications in one jurisdiction based on work product in the other jurisdiction. The pilot will start June 8, 2024 and extend for five years to June 7, 2029.
China Continues Market Distorting Patent Subsidies
Despite China planning to cancel all patent subsidies by 2025, some jurisdictions are still issuing substantive patent subsidies and rewards for domestic and foreign patent grants. Specifically, Haining, near Shanghai, recently released their Implementation Rules for the Management of Special Funds for Intellectual Property Rights in Haining City (海宁市知识产权专项资金管理实施细则公示). Per a 2021 USPTO report on Chinese non-market factors influencing IP trends, China had reportedly adopted more than 70 subnational trademark subsidy measures, including measures for domestic and foreign applications and …