On August 27, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released a report entitled Development Status of the Patent Agency Industry (2020) (专利代理行业发展状况（2020年)). According to the report, as of the end of 2020, the number of Chinese patent practitioners has reached 53,090, among which 23,193 are practicing patent attorneys, and there are 3,253 patent agencies (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). In contrast, the U.S. has 47,228 registered patent practitioners despite having approximately a quarter of the population of …
Category: Patents
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Punishes 71 Firms & Professionals for Unlicensed Practice of Patent Law
On August 23, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced the administrative punishment of 71 Chinese patent firms and individuals for the unlicensed practice of patent law. Total fines exceeded 5 million RMB and usually included confiscation of illegal income as well as a fine that was a multiple of the illegal income. The punished firms and individuals were in Shanghai, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Ningxia. While the sanctioned firms seemed to cater to …
China’s Supreme People’s Court: Declaratory Judgement Actions Involving Invalidated Patents are Possible
In a recent decision highlighted by the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court, the Court ruled that even though a patent was invalidated by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), it was still possible to file a declaratory judgement action to confirm non-infringement of the invalidated patent. Specifically, the Court held “that the invalidation decision of a patent does not become legally effective as soon as it is made, and that the decision is only effective when …
China Releases Draft Patent Examination Guidelines for Comment
On August 3, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) release the Draft Revised Patent Examination Guidelines (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) (专利审查指南修改草案（征求意见稿）). The draft Guidelines update CNIPA’s current Guidelines based on the newly amended patent law that went into effect June 1, 2021. Discussion of some of the highlights potentially relevant to foreign applicants follows.