China’s Supreme People’s Court Clarifies That Defendant May Be Entitled to Attorney Fees and Expenses in IP Litigation

Posted on Categories Copyright, New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation, Patents, Trademarks

On June 3, 2021 and effective the same day, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued the “Approval of the Supreme People’s Court on the Issue of the Defendant’s Request for Compensation for Reasonable Expenses in Intellectual Property Infringement Lawsuits on the Grounds of the Plaintiff’s Abuse of Rights” (最高人民法院关于知识产权侵权诉讼中被告以原告滥用权利为由请求赔偿合理开支问题的批复). The Approval is in response to a request for instructions from the Shanghai Higher People’s Court for a defendant’s request for compensation and allows for compensation in intellectual property infringement lawsuits …

Per CNIPA, 43% of Chinese Patent Firms Have Submitted ‘Irregular’ Patent Applications

Posted on Categories Patents

According to news reports from Chinese central government news services Xinhua and CCTV, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) held an administrative guidance meeting with 14 provincial intellectual property offices on May 28, 2021.  The meeting focused on further regulating irregular patent application activity.  At the meeting, CNIPA disclosed that a high proportion of irregular applications filed this year were filed through more than 1,400 Chinese patent firms (there were3,253 Chinese patent firms at the end of 2020, indicating …

China Releases Administrative Adjudication Measures for Major Patent Infringement Disputes Effective June 1, 2021

Posted on Categories New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation, Patents

On May 28, 2021, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has released the Administrative Adjudication Measures for Major Patent Infringement Disputes (重大专利侵权纠纷行政裁决办法).  Administrative adjudication provides an alternative to litigation that can be much faster and less expensive than civil litigation but doesn’t provide for damages. The Measures set a deadline of 3 months to complete the adjudication from the date of filing.  The Measures go into force June 1, 2021.

China’s President Xi Jinping Throws His Support Behind an Intellectual Property Rights Waiver for COVID Vaccines

Posted on Categories Patents

On May 21, 2021, President Xi Jinping of China attended the Global Health Summit via video link in Beijing upon invitation and backed an initiative to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines.  He also stated China would support Chinese companies transferring vaccine-related technology to other developing countries and carry out joint production with them.