On November 13, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Decision of the CNIPA on Revising the Guidelines for Patent Examination (国家知识产权局关于修改《专利审查指南》的决定). The Decision, effective January 1, 2026, revises the Guidelines, which are roughly analogous to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Manual for Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). The revisions clarify the relationship between patent protection and the new plant variety protection; provides examples of rejections based on social, public interest in illegality rationales; provides examples for …
Category: Patents
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Typical Cases on Combating Malicious Intellectual Property Litigation
On November 18, 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released five Typical Cases on Combating Malicious Intellectual Property Litigation (最高人民法院发布治理知识产权恶意诉讼典型案例). While not precedential as in common law systems, typical cases are used to guide lower courts and promote consistent legal application across China. The previously-issued “Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on Serving and Safeguarding Technological Innovation through High-Quality Adjudication” pointed out that “illegal acts that hinder innovation, such as false litigation, malicious litigation, and abuse of litigation rights, should …
China’s Ministry of Commerce Responds to USPTO’s Order to Show Cause in Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (YMTC) IPR Against Micron
On November 18, 2025, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) responded to a reporter’s question regarding the USPTO’s recent Order to Show Cause in IPR2025-00098 and IPR2025-00099. The USPTO issued a Show Cause Order on November 10, 2025 requiring Yangtze Memory Technologies Company (YMTC) to justify why its IPR petitions against Micron’s U.S. patents should proceed despite being named on the Department of Commerce’s Entity List as an organization “reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of …
Chinese Invention and Utility Model Patent Grants Continue Downward Trend in 2025 Q3
Based on data recently released by China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), invention patent grants and utility model patent grants have continued their downward trend with cumulative drops of 16.56% and 25.92% in the first three quarters of 2025 year-on-year. In the first nine months or 2025, invention patent grants dropped to 682,120 grants, a decrease of 135,360 grants. Utility model patent grants dropped to 1,118,935, a decrease of 391,442 grants.