On April 21, 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) the Typical Intellectual Property Cases in People’s Courts of 2024 (2024年人民法院知识产权典型案例). This year’s annual release includes only 8 cases and includes trade secret theft, an IP ownership dispute, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition. No patent infringement cases made the list this year. Typical cases are used by the SPC to promote uniformity to help ensure similar cases are treated consistently across different courts.
Category: Patents
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 …
China’s National Development and Reform Commission: High-Value Invention Patents per 10,000 People Reached 14
On March 11, 2025, the National People’s Congress approved the China’s National Development and Reform Commission report on the 2024 implementation of China’s economical and social development and draft plan for 2025. Of note, the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people reach 14, exceeding the 2025 goal of 12 high-value patents per 10,000 people in China’s National Intellectual Property Administration’s (CNIPA) 14th five-year plan.
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.