In China’s shift from quantity to quality, 25.5% fewer utility models were granted in 2023 versus 2022. Design patent grants were also down 11.5% according to a January 16, 2024 press conference held by the State Council Information Office. In contrast, invention patent grants were up 15.4%. Invention patent applications are substantively examined while utility models and designs only undergo a preliminary examination. 2024 may show a continuing downward trend for utility models as the amended Patent Examination Guidelines, effective …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Sets Low FRAND Rate in Another OPPO Case
Fresh off OPPO’s victory at the Chongqing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court in a global Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) standard essential patent (SEP) rate setting case, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of China set a low rate in another case for six Chinese SEPs 99813601.8、00815854.1、99813602.6、99813640.9、01803954.5 and 99813641.7 related to the Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) standard. The SPC ordered OPPO to pay Advanced Codec Technologies LLC (ACT) 15,390,527 RMB (~$2.165 million USD) or $0.008 per unit, with an average licensing …
4.5 Year Prison Sentence and 5.5 Million RMB Fine in China Disney Criminal Trademark Case
According to information released January 9, 2024 by the Shanghai Pudong Procuratorate (浦东检察 ), three criminal defendants were sentenced to up to 4.5 years in prison with a 5.5 million RMB fine for selling 830,000 pieces of counterfeit Disney clothing with a sales amount was more than 17 million RMB. This follows a previous criminal case in Shanghai for selling counterfeit Disney plush tolls and multiple Customs cases featuring counterfeit Disney products. The Shanghai Disneyland Resort is 57% owned by …
Translation of China’s Amended Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law
On December 21, 2023, China’s State Council released the Amended Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law (国务院关于修改《中华人民共和国专利法实施细则》的决定). The Implementing Regulations explain how several provisions of China’s amended Patent Law of 2021 will be implemented. The Regulations become effective January 20, 2024. A translation of the Regulations, courtesy of Jerry Xia at Gen Law, follows.