On April 1, 2021, China State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the 2021 legislative work plan (国家市场监督管理总局2021年立法工作计划), with 8 of the 61 matters related to intellectual property law. The 8 cover patent, trademark and trade secret matters including laws and administrative regulations and departmental rules.
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Announces Continuation of the ‘Blue Sky’ Intellectual Property Industry Rectification Program
On March 12, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Notice of the CNIPA on the in-depth development of the “Blue Sky” special rectification action (国家知识产权局关于深入开展“蓝天”专项整治行动的通知). In early 2019, CNIPA launched the Blue Sky special rectification action to clean up the intellectual property industry including cracking down on irregular patent applications and soliciting business by improper means. The current Notice states that CNIPA will continue to carry out Blue Sky rectification actions this year addressing specific IP …
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Releases Measures to Crack Down on ‘Irregular’ Patent Applications
On March 12, 2021, 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) effective immediately. CNIPA is continuing the transition from quantity to quality in patent applications and one method is to reject ‘abnormal’ or ‘irregular’ (junk) patent applications as defined in the Measures. These measures and the concurrent elimination of monetary incentives for patent filings should decrease the total amount of applications filed in China and specifically junk patents.
China Releases Draft Measures for Administrative Adjudication of Major Patent Infringement Disputes for Comment
On March 2, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Measures for Administrative Adjudication of Major Patent Infringement Disputes (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) 《重大专利侵权纠纷行政裁决办法（征求意见稿）》. The Measures, supported by Article 70 of the amended Patent Law, provide an alternative to patent litigation to resolve patent infringement disputes in China. However, unlike litigation, no damages are available as a remedy – only injunctions. The Measures do provide a potential advantage though – speed. CNIPA is supposed to close …