On December 13, 2021, the Shanghai Third Branch of the Procuratorate (上海检察三分院) announced a non-prosecution agreement with a Li XX for uploading Underwriters Laboratories (UL) documents, including standards, to a file sharing site and charging others to download the documents, thereby earning about 14,000 RMB (~$2,200 USD).
USPTO Sanctions Chinese Trademark Agency by Terminating Over 15,000 U.S. Trademark Applications For Egregious Misconduct in Defrauding the USPTO
On December 10, 2021, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a final order for sanctions against Yusha Zhang and Shenzhen Huanyee Intellectual Property Co., Ltd. This follows a show cause order issued on June 8, 2021 and a response filed on July 6, 2021. The respondents have been involved in filing submissions in more than 15,000 trademark matters before the USPTO. Respondents have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, provided false domicile information for applicants, impermissibly …
Chinese Patent Office: 815,000 Patent Applications Were Irregular in 2021
According to a press conference held by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on December 8, 2021, a total of 4 batches of 815,000 irregular patent applications have been identified so far in 2021. The current withdrawal rate of the first 3 batches has reached 93.1%. This would indicate that very roughly~15% of all Chinese patent applications were irregular (or abnormal) as about 5.2 million patent applications were filed in 2020 (not annualizing data, not accounting for an increase …
Guangdong Higher People’s Court Rules for Tencent in China’s First Game Map Copyright Case
On December 6, 2021, the Guangdong Higher People’s Court publicly announced a ruling in favor of Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd. (深圳市腾讯计算机系统有限公司) in a dispute over copyright infringement and unfair competition relating to maps used in first person shooter games. The Court ordered the defendants Changyou Yunduan (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (与畅游云端（北京）科技有限公司) and Hero Entertainment Co., Ltd. (英雄互娱科技股份有限公司) to cease infringement and compensate Tencent for economic losses of 25 million RMB. This is believed to be the first time …