On March 31, 2022, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Second Batch of Guiding Cases for Administrative Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (第二批知识产权行政执法指导案例). Administrative enforcement provides for a second avenue for enforcement of intellectual property rights in China in addition to civil litigation. The Guiding Cases include 3 cases covering patent infringement, trademark infringement and design patent infringement.
Category: Patents
China’s Supreme People’s Court: Patent Infringement Settlements Can Violate the Anti-Monopoly Law
In case (2021）最高法知民终1298号 recently highlighted by the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court of China (SPC), the SPC ruled that a settlement agreement to a patent infringement lawsuit constituted a horizontal monopoly agreement as the scope the agreement was not substantially related to the scope of protection of the patent in question.
USPTO Cuts Ties with the Eurasian Patent Organization, China National Intellectual Property Administration Extends Them
On March 4, 2022, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced it “has terminated engagement with officials from Russia’s agency in charge of intellectual property, the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (commonly known as Rospatent), and with the Eurasian Patent Organization.” In contrast, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced on March 8, 2022 that it is extending Eurasian Patent Organization Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot project for another year through March 31, 2023. The Eurasian Patent Organization …
China Releases Summary of Holdings of the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court (2021)
On February 28, 2022, the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court released 55 holdings (最高人民法院知识产权法庭裁判要旨摘要（2021)) from 48 typical cases from 3,460 cases concluded in 2021. The holdings cover patent administrative cases, patent civil cases, new plant variety cases, integrated circuit layout design cases, trade secret cases, computer software cases, and monopoly cases. One highlight is what might be the first “pay-for-delay” agreement in a pharmaceutical case. What is noticeable absent though is the Sharp v. Oppo litigation setting …