On March 21, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and 6 other government bodies released the “Opinions of the CNIPA, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Financial Regulatory Administration, the National Copyright Administration and the Chinese Academy of Sciences on further optimizing the business environment in the field of intellectual property” (国家知识产权局 教育部 科技部 市场监管总局 金融监管总局 国家版权局 中国科学院关于进一步优化知识产权领域营商环境的意见).
Category: New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration’s 2025 Work Plan – Crack Down on Abnormal Patent Application and Malicious Trademark Registrations
On March 19, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released their 2025 Work Plan for Administrative Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (2025年知识产权行政保护工作方案). Some highlights include: continue to crack down on abnormal patent applications and malicious trademark registration and hoarding; strengthen intellectual property protection in the field of artificial intelligence, and strengthen the publicity and implementation of the “Guidelines for Applications for Artificial Intelligence-Related Invention Patents (Trial);” and strengthen the construction of the integrity system in the field of intellectual …
“Regulations of the State Council on the Settlement of Foreign-Related Intellectual Property Disputes” Unveils Countermeasures Against Those That Use IP Disputes as an Excuse “to Contain and Suppress China”
On March 19, 2025, China’s State Council released the Regulations of the State Council on the Settlement of Foreign-Related Intellectual Property Disputes (国务院关于涉外知识产权纠纷处理的规定), effective May 1, 2025. As compared to last year’s draft, this final version unveils new articles 15-17 to counter countries, individuals and organizations that “use intellectual property disputes as an excuse to contain and suppress China” perhaps in response to Secretary Lutnick’s comments regarding Chinese IP at his confirmation hearing. This final version also maintains article 8 …
China’s State Council Releases Antitrust Guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Sector Covering Reverse Payments and Evergreening
In follow up to the State Administration for Market Regulation’s (SAMR) draft of August 9, 2024, China’s State Council has released the final version of the Antitrust Guidelines for the Pharmaceutical Sector (国务院反垄断反不正当竞争委员会关于药品领域的反垄断指南) on January 24, 2025. Of specific interest to patentees are the regulations on reverse payments and evergreening, translations of which follow. The existence of patents can also used in the determination of a dominant market position.