China’s State Administration for Market Regulation released the Antitrust (also referred to as Anti-Monopoly) Guidelines of the Antitrust Committee of the State Council on the Field of Intellectual Property (国务院反垄断委员会关于知识产权领域的反垄断指南). The guidelines are dated January 4, 2019 but only officially released on September 18, 2020. The guidelines cover Intellectual Property Agreements That May Exclude or Restrict Competition; Abuse of Dominant Market Position Involving Intellectual Property Rights; Concentration of Operators Involving Intellectual Property Rights; and other Circumstances, such as patent pooling.
Category: Patents
China Introduces Proposed Patent Linkage System for Comment
On September 11, 2020, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) jointly issued the draft Implementing Measures for Drug Patent Dispute Early Resolution Mechanism (Trial for Implementation) (Draft for Public Opinions) (药品专利纠纷早期解决机制实施办法（试行)( 征求意见稿)). Patent linkage refers to the process by which a country links drug marketing authorization to the status of the patent(s) corresponding to the originator’s product. Typically, marketing authorization for a generic drug will not be granted prior to the expiration …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Administrative Cases Concerning Patent Grant and Confirmation
China’s Supreme People’s Court published on September 11, 2020 (effective September 12) the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Administrative Cases Concerning Patent Grant and Confirmation (1) (最高人民法院关于审理专利授权确权行政案件适用法律若干问题的规定（一）). The provisions clarify administrative litigation issues for Patent Reexamination Board decisions – both invalidations of granted patents and reexamination of finally rejected patent applications (similar to patent application appeals at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office).
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Opinions on Increasing Sanctions for Intellectual Property Infringement
The Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China released the “Opinions on Increasing the Punishment of Intellectual Property Infringement Acts According to Law” (关于依法加大知识产权侵权行为惩治力度的意见) on September 15, 2020. The opinions confirm the primacy of injunctions and potentially increases the amount of monetary damages typically awarded. The opinions also cover strengthening evidence preservation and increasing criminal enforcement of the intellectual property laws. Notably, the opinions amend Article 20 (now Article 15) from the draft opinions by removing a foreigner-targeted clause, …