On March 27, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) confirmed that earlier-announced policies for missed deadlines also apply to foreign entities. Per Announcement 350, patentees and applicants can restore their patent rights without payment of a restoration right request fee if lost rights were due to the coronavirus.
Category: Patents
China-Norway Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot to Start April 1, 2020
In an announcement by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the CNIPA and the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) allowing for accelerated examination of patent applications in each jurisdiction. The pilot will start April 1, 2020 and extend for three years to March 31, 2023.
Patents Required to List on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Science & Technology Board
On March 20, 2020, the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (similar to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S.) released the Science and Technology Attribute Evaluation Guidelines (Trial) stating requirements to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Science & Technology Board. Among other requirements, applicants to list must have Chinese invention patents.
Chinese Patent Office Releases Patent Statistics for First Two Months of Coronavirus Epidemic
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has released patent statistics for combined January and February 2020 showing a 9% decline in invention patent application filings compared to the first two months of 2019. 2019 as a whole had already shown a significant decrease in filings. Combined January/February data is often used due to variation in the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday, which can occur in January or February and cause a tremendous decrease in patent filings due …