On December 19, 2023, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC, currently geoblocked) released the 39th Batch of Guiding Cases (关于发布第39批指导性案例的通知) covering intellectual property law. While China’s legal system is not a common law system, China nonetheless issues guiding cases “for reference when trying similar cases.” This batch of Guiding Cases covers invention patents, utility models, trade secrets and other intellectual property matters.
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration to Allow Third-Party Challenges to Pharmaceutical Patent Term Extensions
On December 21, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced (关于专利权期限补偿和专利开放许可相关行政复议事项的公告（第560号)) it would allow third parties to challenge the grant of patent term extension (PTE) for Chinese pharmaceutical patents effective January 20, 2024. PTE extends the life of a patent due to a potentially lengthy regulatory review process. Per the recently released Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law PTE is calculated by deducting 5 years from the interval between the date of filing of the patent application and date …
China Updates Regulations Against Applying for Abnormal Patent Applications
On December 21, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) updated the “Regulations regulating the act of applying for patents” (规范申请专利行为的规定) effective January 20, 2024. The Regulations require compliance with the good faith requirement in filing of patent applications per Article 11 of the just-released Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law and defines what is abnormal patent application filing behavior. China has been continuously cracking down on abnormal patent application filings with almost 1 million Chinese patent applications identified as …
China’s State Council Releases 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 and will become effective January 20, 2024.