The National Medical Products Administration of China issued special review procedures for innovative medical devices in November 2018, effective December 1, 2018. The procedures enable expedited regulatory approval of innovative medical devices when the applicant owns or licenses Chinese invention patent applications directed to the medical devices seeking approval. Requests for participation in the special review program will be issued within 60 working days and have an opposition period of 10 working days. Once requests are approved, applicants can request …
China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate Issues Top Example Cases of Criminal Intellectual Property Rights Infringement in 2019
On April 25, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued a list of the top example cases in 2019 of criminal IP rights infringement. The cases cover trademark, copyright and trade secret theft. Verdicts included both imprisonment and fines. While the punishments were severe for trademark and copyright cases, only 2 of the 18 cases are for trade secret theft and defendants received minimal or no jail time, perhaps indicating room for improvement on trade secret protection in China.
Chinese Rail System for Restaurant Meal Delivery Patent Infringed
Perhaps showing the future of restaurants in times of social distancing, defendant Xuansu Company (炫速公司) implemented a restaurant meal delivery system to deliver food to customers using rails from kitchen to customers’ tables thereby avoiding the need for any interaction between customers and restaurant staff. However, unfortunately for Xuansu, according to the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court , the installed system infringed Chinese patent no. 101282669B and therefore awarded the exclusive licensee, Yunxiao Company (云霄公司), 1 million RMB.
Chinese Trademark Office Warns Applicants Against Fraudulent Mail
On April 23, 2020, the Chinese Trademark Office has warned applicants of a scam of someone sending a “trademark announcement” via mail to the applicant in order to defraud the applicant via payment of unnecessary fees. The Office reminds applicants that all notices since May 2016 are electronic and the receipt of Official Documents do not require the payment of fees.