The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recently released January 2020 intellectual property statistics. There were 165,000 invention patent applications filed; 301,000 utility model patent applications filed; and 67,000 design patents filed. Annualized, the invention patent statistics would indicate a 41% increase over 2019, in which 1.401 million invention patent applications were filed. However, this uptick is unlikely to continue due to COVID-19 related business closures in February 2020. CNIPA also granted 28,000 invention patents; 126,000 utility model patents; and …
China’s Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Christian Louboutin’s Red Sole Trademark
In January 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court (最高人民法院) ruled in favor of Christian Louboutin for his red sole trademark. The Supreme People’s Court decision upholds an earlier decision from Beijing Higher People’s Court that ruled even though single color marks are not listed as eligible in Article 8 of the Chinese Trademark, Article 8 does not exclude marks not enumerated in Article 8. Specifically, Article 8 lists combinations of colors as eligible for application but does not list a single …
Wuhan Institute of Virology Applies for a Patent on Gilead’s Remdesivir
The Wuhan Institute of Virology announced on February 4, 2020 that they applied for a Chinese patent on Gilead’s Remdesivir for treating the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that originated in Wuhan in late 2019. The Chinese patent application was filed on January 21, 2020 and the Institute plans to file internationally via the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
China Patent Office to Cease Issuing Paper Patent Certificates
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will no longer issue paper patent certificates for patents with authorization notices dated March 3, 2020 or later. Instead, CNIPA will issue electronic certificates through their online system. Patentees can still request paper certificates through the online system if needed though per Announcement 349 of CNIPA.