On July 8, 2025, the Jiangsu High Court announced a verdict in favor of Nintendo against an unnamed defendant in a copyright infringement case. The defendant sold over 500,000 “Single-Player Red and Blue” retro game consoles priced at 78 RMB with 14 pre-installed infringing games (out of 500 games) and another 10,000+ “Premium Octagonal Gift Box” game consoles priced at 178 RMB with 16 pre-installed infringing games (out of 500 games). The Court award Nintendo 200,000 RMB (about $28,000 USD) …
Supreme People’s Court Fines Patentee for Failure to Report Amendment of Claims During Invalidation to Trial Court
In decision (2023)最高法知民终1295号 released on July 3, 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) held that failure to notify a People’s Court (trial court) of a claim amendment made during an invalidation proceeding is subject to a fine. The SPC also reversed the People’s Court’s judgement of infringement based on the amendments made during the invalidation proceeding. Accordingly, a 100,000 RMB win at the first instance turned into a 150,000 RMB loss at the second instance.
CNIPA June 2025 Press Conference: Central Rectification of 35 Firms with Large Number of ‘Abnormal’ Patent Applications; Explore Use of AI in Patent Examination
On June 27, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) held their monthly press conference. Two highlights include the status of the “Blue Sky” patent agency rectification campaign and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in patent examination. CNIPA stated that it imposed “centralized rectification of 35 institutions that have been found to have a large number of abnormal applications, and intends to impose heavy penalties such as suspension of business and license revocation.” With respect to AI, CNIPA stated, …
China’s National People’s Congress Passes Amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law
On June 27, 2025, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the newly amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (中华人民共和国反不正当竞争法). The amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL) will be effective October 15, 2025. While China is not a common law country, Article 7 of the AUCL nonetheless provides common law-like protection for unregistered marks that have a “certain influence.” Article 7 is updated to prohibit the use of others’ trademarks as business names or search keywords. However, this revision does not address much needed …