On May 16, 2024, China’s Office of the Inter-Ministerial Joint Meeting for the Building of a Powerful Intellectual Property (IP) Nation (国家知识产权强国建设工作部际联席会议办公室) released the Plan for Promoting the Construction of a Powerful Intellectual Property Country in 2024 (2024年知识产权强国建设推进计划). Among other points, the 110-point Plan covers exploring the use of AI in IP examination, promoting amending IP legislation, improving patent examination, cracking down on bad faith IP filings, and a shout-out to the upcoming AIPPI meeting in Hangzhou. A translation follows: ... The post China Releases the Plan for Pr ..read more

Published on May 16, 2024 and effective June 1, 2024, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Announcement of the State Intellectual Property Office on the Revision of Patent Certificates (No. 581) (国家知识产权局关于专利证书改版的公告（第581号)). Per CNIPA, the “new version of the patent certificate follows the A4 vertical format, and optimizes and adjusts the layout of the recorded matters.” Based on samples provided by CNIPA, it appears that the new version will include both the applicant(s) and the inventor(s) at the ... The post China’s National Intellectual Property Administr ..read more

On May 10, 2024, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the top ten typical cases of intellectual property enforcement in 2023.  Administration enforcement via the SAMR provides an alternative route for IP enforcement in China. While damages are not available, injunctions and significant fines are.  Further, cases can be referred to the procuratorate for criminal prosecution if warranted. Per the SAMR, local bureaus in 2023 “severely cracked down on trademark infringement, counterfeit patents, malicious applications for trademark registration, and ..read more

On May 6, 2024, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced the Interim Provisions on Anti-Unfair Competition (AUCL) on the Internet (网络反不正当竞争暂行规定) effective September 1, 2024.  The AUCL has been an effective tool for foreigners to enforce their unregistered trademarks in China. The new Provisions clarify how the AUCL applies to the Internet.  The Provisions not only cover data scraping (that may affect collecting training date for generative AI) and fabricated reviews, but also covers more traditional intellectual property ... The post China’s State Administr ..read more

On May 9, 2024, China’s General Office of the State Council issued the State Council 2024 Legislative Work Plan (国务院2024年度立法工作计划). The Plan mentions 21 legal bills to be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for review, 30 administrative regulations to be formulated and revised, and other legislative projects to be completed. IP-related legislation includes the “Draft Amendment to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law” (AUCL) drafted by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) to be submitted to the Standing ... The post China’s State Council Re ..read more

On April 27, 2024, the Shanghai Jingan Procuratorate (静安区检察院) announced the successful prosecution of defendant Gong XX for counterfeiting registered trademarks of Burberry. On February 23, 2024, the Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court upheld an earlier judgment sentencing Gong to 5 years in prison and a 2 million RMB fine.  Shanghai seems to be becoming a preferred venue for foreign rights holders for enforcement of criminal IP laws.  This same Court also recently affirmed a 9-year prison sentence for ... The post 5-Year Chinese Prison Sentence and 2 Million RMB Fine for Burb ..read more

On May 7, 2024, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Working Procedures for the Construction and Operation of the People’s Court Case Database (人民法院案例库建设运行工作规程). While China is not a common law country, the SPC stated that judges must search the database and rule in alignment with similar cases in the database to avoid different rulings in cases having the same facts.  The Working Procedures explain how cases are added to the database and how judges should use the database ... The post China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Working Procedures for the Construction and Operati ..read more

On April 22, 2024, the Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court affirmed the Shanghai Huangpu District People’s Court earlier ruling against principal defendants Long XX Company, Chen XX and Chen YY in a case of criminal copyright infringement of Lego sets.  The Court sentenced Long XX Company to a fine of RMB 600 million RMB; sentenced the principal defendant Chen XX to nine years in prison and a fine of RMB 20 million RMB; sentenced the principal defendant Chen YY  ... The post 9-Year Prison Sentence and 600 Million RMB Fine for Criminal Copyright Infringement of Lego Sets appear ..read more

On April 26, 2024, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the 2023 Typical Cases of Administrative Enforcement (2023年度知识产权行政保护典型案例). The 30 cases covers patents, trademarks and geographical indications. Administrative enforcement in China provides an alternative to enforcement through the court system and can be faster and less expensive than going to trial. However, while damages are unavailable defendants can be fined.  Note though fines can be quite high as the 12 million RMB fine in the first case below indicates. ... The post China’s National Intellect ..read more

On April 24, 2024, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Summary of the Supreme People’s Court’s Annual Report on Legal Application in Intellectual Property Cases (2023) (最高人民法院知识产权案件法律适用问题年度报告（2023）摘要).  The annual report “sorts out the following 41 legal application issues from the intellectual property cases concluded by the Supreme People’s Court in 2023.”  While not black letter law in the common law sense, the judgements may be intended to be influential among lower courts. As explained by the SPC:  1. Determination ... The post China’s Supreme People’s Court R ..read more