On March 16, 2022, China’s Supreme People’s Court issued the Judicial Interpretation (JI) of Anti-Unfair Competition Law (UCL) (最高人民法院关于适用〈中华人民共和国反不正当竞争法〉若干问题的解释), which will go into effect March 20, 2022. The Anti-Unfair Competition Law has been used effectively by foreigners in trademark and trade dress cases when the foreigners’ trademarks have not been registered (or in addition to a trademark infringement claim for a registered trademark). Per a press conference held by the Third Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court, one of …
Europol: More Than Half of Counterfeits Originate in China
On March 7, 2022, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) jointly released the Intellectual Property Crime Threat Assessment 2022. Per the Assessment, China (including Hong Kong) was the main source of counterfeits based on number of counterfeits and by value of the counterfeits seized at the EU external borders. Almost 76% of the fake goods detained were for trademark infringement; design infringement was the second most reported at 23% …
USPTO Cuts Ties with the Eurasian Patent Organization, China National Intellectual Property Administration Extends Them
On March 4, 2022, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced it “has terminated engagement with officials from Russia’s agency in charge of intellectual property, the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (commonly known as Rospatent), and with the Eurasian Patent Organization.” In contrast, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced on March 8, 2022 that it is extending Eurasian Patent Organization Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot project for another year through March 31, 2023. The Eurasian Patent Organization …
China Releases Summary of Holdings of the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court (2021)
On February 28, 2022, the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court released 55 holdings (最高人民法院知识产权法庭裁判要旨摘要（2021)) from 48 typical cases from 3,460 cases concluded in 2021. The holdings cover patent administrative cases, patent civil cases, new plant variety cases, integrated circuit layout design cases, trade secret cases, computer software cases, and monopoly cases. One highlight is what might be the first “pay-for-delay” agreement in a pharmaceutical case. What is noticeable absent though is the Sharp v. Oppo litigation setting …