On April 25, 2023, Liu Ming, Deputy Director of the Reexamination and Invalidation Trial Department of China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), announced the “Top Ten Patent Reexamination and Invalidation Cases in 2022” (2022年度专利复审无效十大案件). The top ten patent reexamination and invalidation cases in 2022 include 8 invalidation cases of invention patents, 1 invalidation case of a utility model patent and 1 invalidation case of a design patent. The cases involves artificial intelligence, standard essential patents, genetic engineering drugs, traditional Chinese …
USTR Releases 2023 Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property – China Remains on Priority Watch List
On April 26, 2023, World Intellectual Property Day, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2023 Special 301 Report. The Report focuses on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. China, along with several other countries, remain on the Priority Watch List. With respect to China, the USTR stated There remain many serious concerns regarding IP protection and enforcement in China. In 2022, China continued implementation of amendments …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Summaries of 43 Legal Application Issues from 2022 Intellectual Property Cases
On April 22, 2023, China Supreme Peoples Court (SPC) released the Summary of the Annual Report of the Supreme People’s Court on Intellectual Property Cases (2022) (最高人民法院知识产权案件年度报告(2022)摘要). This annual report explains 43 legal application issues from the intellectual property cases concluded by the Supreme People’s Court in 2022 including patent cases, trademark cases, copyright cases, unfair competition cases, new plant variety cases, integrated circuit layout design cases, monopoly cases, technical contract cases, and litigation procedures.
Chinese Utility Model Grants Down Over 21% in 2023 Q1 YoY; Trademark Grants Down Almost 53%
According to data recently released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), utility model grants were down 21.7% to 600,206 grants in the first quarter of 2023 versus a year ago. Invention patent grants were up slightly at 1.4% to 162,902 grants. Design patent grants were up almost 7% to 183,325 grants. Per Toby Mak of Tee & Howe, “the significant drop in utility model grant number may be a direct result of CNIPA cracking down on abnormal patent …