On November 11, 2020, China’s National People’s Congress approved amendments to the Copyright Law. The amendments will become effective June 1, 2021. Some of the highlights include punitive damages for intentional infringement, an increase in statutory damages, and an increase in civil fines for copyright infringement.
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
Artificial Intelligence Cannot Be Patent Inventor in China’s Draft Amended Patent Examination Guidelines
In China’s Draft Revised Patent Examination Guidelines (Second Draft for Solicitation of Comments) (专利审查指南修改草案(第二批征求意见稿)), Artificial Intelligences (AIs) cannot be listed as inventors for Chinese patent applications. (The draft Patent Examination Guidelines are similar to the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure in the U.S.) The current draft was released by the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on November 10, 2020 with comments due by December 10, 2020.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation Releases Updated Regulations on Prohibiting Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights to Exclude and Restrict Competition
On November 3, 2020, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation released the Regulations on prohibiting abuse of intellectual property rights to exclude and restrict competition (关于禁止滥用知识产权排除、限制竞争行为的规定). Originally released in 2015, the Regulations were mainly amended October 23, 2020 to remove the exemption for price fixing behaviors as a monopolistic behavior covered by the regulations.
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Draft Patent Linkage Litigation Regulations
On October 29, 2020, in follow up the approval of the amended Patent Law introducing Patent Linkage, China’s Supreme People’s Court released the Draft Regulations on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Cases Involving Patent Linkage (关于审理涉药品上市审评审批专利民事案件适用法律若干问题的规定) (征求意见稿)). Earlier this year, before the approval of the amended Patent Law, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) jointly issued the draft Implementing Measures for Drug Patent Dispute Early Resolution Mechanism (Trial …