The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recently released intellectual property filing data for August 2020 showing a continued stabilization in patent filings after the recent upsurge. Invention patent application filings were flat compared to July 2020 at 134,532 filings while utility model applications were up slightly at 285,720 versus 269,928 filings in July 2020. However, both numbers are significantly higher than August 2019 by 20.7% for invention patent application filings and 46.5% for utility model application filings.
China’s Threshold for Criminal Trade Secret Misappropriation to Drop to 300,000 RMB
On September 13, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate released the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (3) (关于办理侵犯知识产权刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释（三）) effective September 14, 2020. One of the key highlights in this Judicial Interpretation is the reduction in the threshold for criminal misappropriation of trade secrets. Previously, the threshold was 500,000 RMB (~$73 thousand USD) and will now be 300,000 RMB.
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Trial of Civil Cases of Infringement of Trade Secrets
On September 11, 2020 (and effective September 12, 2020), the Supreme People’s Court of China released the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Trial of Civil Cases of Infringement (Theft) of Trade Secrets (审理侵犯商业秘密民事案件适用法律若干问题的规定). This judicial interpretation of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and the Civil Procedure Law clarifies the definition of trade secrets in civil litigation and how theft of trade secrets should be handled in civil litigation in China.
China Punishes Another Trademark Agency for Malicious Registration of Coronavirus-Related Trademarks
In follow up to an notice issued in February 2020 by the Chinese Trademark Office forbidding registration of coronavirus-related trademarks, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Yuhua District, Shijiazhuang City recently imposed fines totaling 50,000 RMB on Hebei Trademark Office Co., Ltd. and related persons for attempting to do just that. These fines follow fines imposed in other jurisdictions earlier this year including a 100,000 RMB fine on Beijing Yijie Shunda International Intellectual Property Agency Co., Ltd. and an …