On August 30, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Guidelines for Delayed Examination of Invention Patent Applications (发明专利申请延迟审查办理指南). Delayed examination has many potential benefits including delaying incurring fees associated with prosecution (e.g., attorney fees) and potentially allowing for the crafting of claims for stronger reads on products that emerge after the initial patent application filing. This latter may be especially useful as China generally doesn’t allow long chains of divisionals as in the United States. Note the …
4-Year Prison Term and 1.8 Million RMB Fine for Counterfeiting Registered Trademarks of Western Cosmetics in China
In yet another tough criminal sentence for counterfeiting of registered trademarks, the People’s Court of Hecheng, Hunan, China sentenced He XX to a 4-year prison sentence and 1.8 million RMB fine for counterfeiting registered trademarks of Western cosmetic brands including Dior, Hermes, Lancome, and SK-II. Since December 2021, He XX purchased, at low prices, perfume, lipstick, face masks and other foreign-branded cosmetics from unknown sources. Without obtaining the permission of the aforesaid registered trademark owner, He XX instructed employees to …
China’s State Council Releases Opinions of the State Council on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Enhancing the Attraction of Foreign Investment
On August 13, 2023, China’s State Council released the Opinions of the State Council on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Enhancing the Attraction of Foreign Investment (国务院关于进一步优化外商投资环境 加大吸引外商投资力度的意见). The Opinions propose 24 policy measures in 6 aspects including two for intellectual property: strengthening the administrative protection of intellectual property rights and strengthening law enforcement regarding intellectual property rights.
China Prosecutes 11,675 People for IP Crimes in 2023 H1
According to a press release dated August 4, 2023 from the China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) 11,675 people were prosecuted for IP Crimes in the first half 2023, up 36.1% year-on-year. Criminal trademark infringement made up the majority of IP crimes with 10,384 people prosecuted accounting for 88.9% of the total. Copyright was second with 1,122 persons prosecuted. Trade secret misappropriation was third with 167 people prosecuted, up 89.8% year-on-year.