On April 10, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Notice of the State Intellectual Property Office on Further Carrying Out the “Blue Sky” Special Rectification Action of the Intellectual Property Agency Industry (国家知识产权局关于进一步深入开展知识产权代理行业“蓝天”专项整治行动的通知). The Notice states that CNIPA will continue its Blue Sky rectification program by cracking down on both trademark and patent agencies that violate laws and regulations. Similar Notices were issued in January 2022 and March 2021. Under the Blue Sky campaign CNIPA has been …
Category: Trademarks
China Targeting 45% Jump in Patent Application Filings in 2023 per Annual Budget
On March 28, 2023, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued its 2023 Budget (国家知识产权局2023年部门预算). On the patent side, CNIPA is targeting a 45% jump in invention and utility model patent application filings in 2023 to at least 4.82 million applications versus the 2022 target. CNIPA is targeting to complete examination of at least 1.923 million applications compared with last year’s target of 1.809 million (a 6% increase). Nonetheless, CNIPA plans to maintain an examination timeline of 16.5 months …
Wuxi Intermediate People’s Court Upholds 4.5 Year Prison Sentence for Chinese Trademark Scammer
On March 23, 2023, the Wuxi Intermediate People’s Court (无锡市中级人民法院) upheld a lower court’s sentence of 4.5 years for Zhao XX as well as a fine of 30,000 RMB and restitution of 280,000 RMB. Zhao used the “trademark document express delivery” scam to courier copies of official trademark approval announcements to trademark applicants requiring the payment of 25 RMB upon receipt.
Mattel Defeats Chinese Trademark Applicant Attempting to Register “Barbie” for Services Including Artificial Insemination (For Animals)
On February 16, 2023, the Beijing IP Court announced a ruling in Mattel’s favor against a Chinese applicant attempting to register a trademark for 芭比堂 (Barbie Tang) in class 44 for goods and services including animal breeding, artificial insemination (for animals), test tube fertilization (for animals), pet bathing and veterinary assistance. Yunchong (Beijing) Animal Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (云宠（北京）动物医疗科技有限公司) operates a chain of animal hospitals operating under the name of 芭比堂动物医院 (Barbietang Animal Hospital) and applied for a trademark for …