Per a press conference on July 18, 2023, Hu Wenhui, deputy director of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), stated: In the first half of the year, a total of 433,000 invention patents and 1.104 million utility models were granted. Further, 35,000 PCT international patent applications were filed; 33,000 patent reexamination cases were concluded, and 4,433 invalidation cases were concluded. Chinese applicants submitted a total of 957 international design applications through the Hague System. Compared with the first half …
Kunshan Court Sentences Defendants to 4-Year Prison Term for Selling Game Cheat Plug-Ins in Chinese Criminal Copyright Infringement Case
On June 29, 2023, the People’s Court of Kunshan City rendered a public judgment of first instance on the criminal case of defendants He and Wang’s illegal sale of the “Chicken Leg” (“鸡腿”) cheat game plug-ins for “Game for Peace” (和平精英) and PUBG MOBILE, sentencing both defendants to a fixed-term imprisonment of four years for the crime of copyright infringement and imposing a fine of 20 million RMB, and recovering the illegal proceeds and fruits thereof.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation Releases “Provisions Prohibiting Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights to Exclude and Restrict Competition”
On June 29, 2023, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the Provisions Prohibiting Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights to Exclude and Restrict Competition (禁止滥用知识产权排除、限制竞争行为规定) effective August 1, 2023. These Provisions update the Regulations on Prohibiting the Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights to Exclude and Restrict Competition issued in 2015. The Provisions cover licensing, standards setting and patent pooling among other areas.
2022 Annual Report of the China National Intellectual Property Administration: 955,000 Patent Applications Were ‘Abnormal’
On June 5, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the 2022 Annual Report of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (国家知识产权局2022年度报告) including statistical data on 2022 patent application filings. In 2022 CNIPA identified 955,000 abnormal patent applications (up 17% on 2021) and 372,100 malicious trademark registrations (down slightly from 2021). As there was a total of 5,365,000 patent applications (invention, utility model and design) filed in 2022, then almost 18% of patent applications in 2022 were abnormal (assuming …