On the afternoon of October 16, 2023, China’s Supreme People’s Court released typical cases involving the protection of personality rights of private enterprises and private entrepreneurs and answered reporters’ questions. While the typical cases mostly relate to defamation, one relates to trademark registration of another’s name, which may be useful in invalidating trademark registrations of eponymous corporations made by squatters.
Shenzhen Proposes Ending Patent Grant Subsidies Two Years Early
On September 26, 2023 the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation released the Operation Rules for Special Funds in the Field of Intellectual Property Rights of the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation (Revised Draft for Comments) (深圳市市场监督管理局知识产权领域专项资金操作规程(修订征求意见稿)) proposing to eliminate financial subsidies/rewards for grants of both Chinese and foreign patents by the end of 2023. However, other local and national market distorting incentives remain.
China’s Cyberspace Administration Proposes Loosening Restrictions on Cross-Border Data Flows
On September 28, 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China proposed relaxing restrictions on cross-border data flows in the Regulations to Standardize and Promote Cross-Border Data Flows (Draft for Comment) (规范和促进数据跨境流动规定（征求意见稿)). According to the Draft Regulations, sending some Chinese data abroad will no longer require a data export security assessment. However, some terms in the Draft lack clarity.
World Intellectual Property Organization Releases Global Innovation Index 2023 – China Outranks the US in Top 100 Science and Technology Clusters
Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore are the world’s most innovative economies in 2023, according to WIPO’s Global Innovation Index (GII). China – the only middle-income economy in the GII top 30 – ranks 12th – down from 11th in 2022. However, for the first time, in 2023, China has the most Science & Technology (S&T) clusters (24) ranked among the top 100, overtaking the United States with 21 clusters unchanged from 2022. Based on S&T intensity, …