Fourth amendments of the Chinese patent law has taken effect on June 1, 2021, wherein, as for Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) for pharmaceutical patents, Paragraph 3 of Article 42 stipulates that, in order to compensate for the time taken for the review and approval of new drugs, for new drug-related invention patents that have been approved for marketing in China, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall, at the request of the patentee, grant compensation for the duration of the patent right.
Over the years, Chang Tsi & Partners has maintained a strong relationship and close collaboration with Customs at various levels in China. Participating in intellectual property protection training organised by Customs across the country has been a crucial aspect of Chang Tsi's daily work.
During an executive meeting on November 3, 2023, the State Council, China's Cabinet, approved the Draft Implementation Rules of the Patent Law. As an important supporting regulation to ensure the implementation of the Patent Law, the revision of the Implementing Rules of the Patent Law has been highly anticipated since the fourth amendment of the Patent Law was passed. It has been three years since the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published the Proposals for Revisions to the Implementing Rules of the Patent Law (Draft for Comment) on November 27, 2020. With the approval of the Draft Implementation Rules at the State Council executive meeting, the formal version of the Implementation Rules of the Patent Law is expected to be officially released soon.
Skechers (Hengqin New Area, Zhuhai) Commercial Co., Ltd. sued Guangdong Camel Clothing Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Camel Home Textile Technology Co., Ltd., Guangdong Zhongyou Technology Co., Ltd., Tianjin Ruijiaxun Trading Co., Ltd. for design patent infringement dispute (first instance).
On September 4, 2023, China’s third-party media released the China Patent Invalidity Data Quick Check Manual (2023 Edition). In this manual, the overall situation of China patent invalidation is introduced, including statistical analysis of the parties, trial cycle, and legal basis. Based on the manual, this report has compiled some key data for your reference.
Recently, Lihan's Hong Kong Team helped one of its Fortune 500 clients, a global tech giant, win a "milestone" trademark case regarding refusal on absolute grounds in Hong Kong.
Macau Customs maintains an enforcement department for IP investigation that works closely with Mainland Chinese authorities, foreign customs agencies, and World Customs Organization to ensure best practices in encountering criminal organizations engaged in IP theft.
There are no formalities required to obtain copyright protection for a work in the Hong Kong SAR. Works of authors from any place in the world, or works first published anywhere in the world, also qualify for copyright protection in the Hong Kong SAR.
Defensive trademarks have been protected in HK based on Trade Marks Ordinance. It was also possible under Cap. 43 (see sections 55 to 57) to register defensive trademarks.
For years, malicious trademark registration has not fully stopped in China. This happens mainly because in China the principle of first-to-file is applicable and the cost for trademark registration is relatively low. For the purpose of enhancing trademark protection and creating a friendly business environment, China has been taking multiple measures and continued efforts from the perspectives of legislation, administrative protection, and judicial protection to crack down on malicious trademark registrations.
The trademark registration systems of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan provide territorial protection. Hence, trademarks registered with the China National Intellectual Property Administration or trademarks registries of other countries or regions do not automatically receive extension protection in these three jurisdictions. As a gateway to China and Asia, Hong Kong, Macao, and TAIWAN are set to benefit from the economic integration of the Greater China region. To obtain a registered trademark under Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan trademark laws precede in launching a new business in Great China.
This is a criminal raid action against an infringer who produced and sold counterfeit products in large quantities.
Post-filing data is important for the Applicant to get a patent right, especially for the Applicant in the biological and chemical field. However, you may find the examination standard for the post-filing data is very strict in China.
The sixth amendments to the Guidelines for Patent Examination already have taken effect on January 15, 2021, making a new clarification for the examination of the post-filing data.
After the 4th amendment of China Patent Law, China has extend the design patent protection term from 10 years to 15 years, from the date of filling. In the US, the term is also 15 years, from the date of grant. Before the amendment, China only allow to use solid lines to protect the design as whole product. Now, as the same in the US, China start to allow partial design protection by using broken lines.
Nowadays most companies understand the value of applying for patents on inventions before launching a new product. Obtaining patents on your inventions can effectively secure your rights and stop others from making or using your invention without permission. However, not so many companies have recognized the benefits that come with product clearance, also known as “freedom to operate” (FTO) or “right to use” analysis
Taiwan government aims to accelerate the prosecution process and provide a broader protection for the industry to encourage inventors and brand owners to seek protections through the trademark and patent system. Here are the summaries of the new policies just launched in the past year and the introduction of the Draft of the new Patent law and Trademark Act
The regulators focus on chemical safety labels in their supervision and administration of hazardous chemicals because chemical safety labels provide essential identifications to indicate the hazardous properties of chemicals. Entities engaging in hazardous chemicals industry, therefore, have started to put emphasis on chemical safety labels. This article will briefly introduce chemical safety labels under Chinese regulatory regime, including the importance, the preparation and the punishment thereof, and will also provide suggestions on regulatory compliance when making safety label.
By 2018, the defendant owned nearly 3,000 fruit shops nationwide and had become one of the top 100 chain stores in China.
IP rights have always been a focus in the China-US relationship. With the signing of the Phase One deal at the start of the year, the China-US trade war has come to a nervous truce.
The case is a complicated trademark infringement dispute between a world-famous hotel brand and its former licensee who committed trademark infringement after the license has been terminated.
This case was a milestone victory for the Defendant, the attorneys at Chang Tsi & Partners, and for the legal industry in China.
This case is a trademark infringement case with significant influence in the industry from 2019 to 2020.
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) announced the latest amendments to the Patent Examination Guidelines (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”), part of which became effective as of November 1, 2019 and the rest as of February 1, 2020. This article aims to provide some practical advice on the highlights of the revisions.
CNIPA recently issued a new regulation “Provisions Regulating the Application for Trademark Registration” (hereinafter may be referred to as “Provision”) as guidelines for the implementation of the new trademark law. The “Provision” will be effective as of December 1, 2019.
The criminal lawsuit represented by Chang Tsi & Partners against Chen in Shanghai was award “2019 Top 10 Intellectual Property Protection Case” by Shanghai intellectual property administration, in which Chen’s sales of sanitary products with a “TOTO” counterfeit trademark constituted the crime of selling products bearing counterfeited registered trademark
Chang Tsi & Partners on behalf of BOE Technology Group Co, Ltd and Beijing Orient Vacuum Electric Co, Ltd. won the case of BOE Technology Group Co,Ltd. & Beijing Orient Vacuum Electric Co, Ltd. Suing Wenzhou BOE Vacuum Electric Co, Ltd. unfair competition.
In daily trademark practice, we frequently receive inquires from our clients about how to protect works of fine art under copyright and/or trademark law.
This is a case in which a shell company established in Hong Kong seeks unreasonable compensation by squatting trademarks and bringing a lawsuit against a multinational corporation for trademark infringement.
As stipulated in Article 20 of the Chinese Patent Law, where any entity or individual intends to file an application for patent abroad for any invention or utility model developed in China, it or he shall request in advance the patent administration department under the State Council for confidentiality examination; v'v
Intellectual property rights (IPRs) can not only contribute to a company’s performance and profiting in the market, but help the company obtain opportunities for tax breaks in accordance with the applicable taxation laws and policies.
For many years, China remains as the main provenance of IPR infringing goods, and such undesirable situation may not be significantly changed in the near future.
In 2018, the abovementioned case was selected by The Supreme People’s Procuratorate of PRC as one of ten classic cases regarding protection of intellectual property rights in 2017.
This case is the first one that the trademarks of Tiffany and Company (hereinafter referred to as “Tiffany”) are recognized as well-known trademark via
Our client LS&Co. is the owner of “LEVI’S” in China. Its brand “LEVI’S” is known as “Li-Wei-Si” (In Chinese: 李维斯) by Chinese consumers. A trademark squatter, an individual named Liu Zuofu, registered a trademark fully incorporating “Li-Wei-Si” as early as 2010: “Ku-Ai-Li-Wei-Si.” At this time the client owned no prior registration of the Chinese mark “Li-Wei-Si.” Liu Zuofu also owns a company named Guangzhou City Yixuan Apparel Co., Ltd. to manufacture and distribute “Ku-Ai-Li-Wei-Si” branded infringing jeans.
The case was listed as a “cluster battle” case under the supervision of the Central PSB of China and widely acknowledged as a success.
In March 2014, Unwired Planet brought an action against Huawei, Samsung and Google for the infringement of its UK patents, including 5 standard essential patents (“SEP”) covered by 2G, 3G and 4G telecommunication standards.
As COVID-19 spreads over the world, at this difficult time, we are concerned about people affected by covid-19 worldwide.
According to the No. 349 Announcement of the National Intellectual Property Administration of P. R. China, for all patents issued on or after 3 March 2020, only electronic patent certificates will be issued. Patent certificate on paper could be requested separately if needed.
To enhance the efficiency of examinations of trademark applications in China, so that trademark applications can mature to registration more quickly, the China trademark authorities have been speeding up examination procedures. By doing so, many pending cases have been concluded and the examination period has been drastically shortened. In the past, it was normal for a trademark application to be pending 3 years after its application date; today, an application can be approved for preliminary registration in around 6 months.
In 2012, the Civil Procedure Law of People’s Republic of China introduced the idea of a “blacklist” of dishonest debtors (officially named the List of Dishonest Enforcees). In the following years, multiple interpretations of these procedures by the Supreme People’s Court provided guidance on how enforcement measures could be used against debtors. These measures include a prohibition of extravagant consumption, judicial custody, and criminal punishment.
OEM is short for Original Equipment Manufacturer, and refers to a business mode in which a brand holder does not directly manufacture its products but entrusts another party with the manufacture and then directly applies the trademark of its own brand on the products. A manufacturer who undertakes such work is called an OEM, and its products OEM products.
As stipulated in Article 26.4 of the Chinese Patent Law, the claims shall be supported by the description and shall define the extent of the patent protection sought for in a clear and concise manner.
Infringers in China are getting bolder. Recently, we have been made aware of third party registrations of package designs used to hold brand owners and their products ransom.
Under the trend of the globalization, China is planning to take one step forward to improve the design patent legal environment. Specifically, China plans to amend the patent law in order to harmonize with the laws in other major member countries in universal design patent treaty.
Two and half years passed since the New China Trademark Law and Regulation on the Implementation of the China Trademark Law were implemented as of May 1, 2014, China Trademark Office (the CTMO) and Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (the TRAB) finally issue the new version of Trademark Review and Examination Criteria.
In recent the Guangzhou Intermediate Court has made a first instance judgment in the trademark infringement case of Zhou Lelun (an individual) v. Xin Bai Lun Trading (China) Co., Ltd, the Chinese subsidiary of sportswear manufacturer New Balance Athletic Shoes, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Xin Bai Lun Company”).
The State Council Leading Group of the National Fight against IP Infringement and Manufacture and Sale of Fake and Defective Goods in the Online Environment published their Work Plan (“The Plan”) on June 18, 2014. The Plan reports that the State Council will spend half a year carrying out a special campaign to address Online Infringement and Counterfeiting starting in June 2014.
For the completion of an invention-creation which is not by way of the execution of tasks assigned by a work entity or which does not primarily take advantage of the material and technical resources of such an entity, is such an invention-creation a service invention-creation?
