19 March 2021
SPC Issues Judicial Interpretation of Punitive Damages for Intellectual Property
最高法发布知识产权惩罚性赔偿司法解释
Issue: 法释 [2021] No. 4
Issue Date: 2021-03-03
Effective Date: 2021-03-03
Recently, the 1831st meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court passed the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of Punitive Damages in Civil Cases of Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights" (the “Interpretation”), which will be implemented from 3 March 2021.
The Interpretation contains seven articles that specify the scope of application of punitive damages in civil intellectual property cases, the content and timing of requests, determining intentional and serious circumstances, determining the base amount for calculations and multipliers, and the effective time. In order to ensure that the punitive damages system is used appropriately and to provide safeguards against its abuse, the Interpretation also outlines all the elements for the application of punitive damages by providing clear operational guidelines and reasonable expectations for parties.
Source: http://www.court.gov.cn/fabu-xiangqing-288861.html
CNIPA Issues Administrative Ruling Measures for Major Patent Infringement Disputes (Draft for Comments)
国家知识产权局发布《重大专利侵权纠纷行政裁决办法（征求意见稿）》
Issue Date: 2021-03-02
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) has issued the “Measures for Administrative Adjudication of Major Patent Infringement Disputes (Draft for Comments)” (the “Measures”) for public comment until 2 April 2021.
Major patent infringement disputes referred to in the Measures refer to those that fall into any of the following circumstances: (i) those involving significant public interest; (ii) those that have significant impact on the development of the industry; (iii) significant cases that involve multiple provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; (iv) other significant cases that should be administratively adjudicated by CNIPA. In addition, the Measures provide standardized and detailed provisions on the administrative adjudication procedures and methods for the abovementioned major patent infringement disputes.
Source: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2021/3/2/art_75_157045.html
CNIPA Released Annual Work Guidelines for Promoting the High-quality Development of Intellectual Property Rights (2021)
国家知识产权局发布《推动知识产权高质量发展年度工作指引（2021）》
Issue: 国知发运字 [2021] No. 3
Date: 2021-03-03
Recently, China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) issued a notice on the “Annual Work Guidelines for Promoting High-Quality Development of Intellectual Property (2021)” (the "Guidelines") and a 22-item task list for 2021 (the "List").
1. The Guidelines set out the main objectives in four areas for intellectual property: creation, protection, application and public services.
a. Intellectual property creation. The CNIPA will comprehensively implement the “Special Implementation Plan for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Invention Patent Examination (2019-2022)”, and vigorously implement trademark branding strategies and promoting the use of geographical indications. The quality and efficiency of intellectual property examinations will be continuously improved, and the examination cycles of invention patents, high-value invention patents and trademark registration has reduced to 18.5 months, 14 months, and four months respectively.
b. Intellectual property protection. The CNIPA will solidly implement the requirements for deploying the “Opinions on Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection”, further enhance the business capacity and scope of existing protection centres and rapid rights defence centres and deploy a number of intellectual property protection centres and rapid rights defence centres in conjunction with local needs. The CNIPA will also strictly implement the punitive compensation system for IPR infringement, establish a smoother mechanism for IPR protection, remove loopholes for easy and frequent infringement, and achieve a high level of social satisfaction with IPR protection.
c. Application of intellectual property rights. The intellectual property service system has been further improved. Under strict risk control measures, the scale of patent and trademark pledge financing has reached RMB 240 billion, the number of enterprises benefiting from the financing increased by more than 10% and the added value of patent-intensive industries nationwide has grown steadily.
d. Intellectual property public services. The CNIPA will unify public service standards for intellectual property rights, continue to promote the integration of relevant local patent and trademark service counters, and strive to achieve a "one-stop shop" for intellectual property services. The CNIPA will also promote the construction of IPR protection information platform, complete the first phase of construction of 100 Technology and Innovation Support Centres (TISCs) in China and further improve the public service system of IPR for the convenience of the public.
2. The List mentions that the CNIPA will continue cracking down on illegal acts of trademark and patent agencies by focusing on the acts of providing agency services for malicious hoarding and trademark snatching and the acts of hanging licenses, unqualified patent agents, agents for abnormal patent applications not for innovation purposes, and soliciting business by improper means, and fully abolishing financial support for IPR applications.
Source: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-03/06/content_5590909.htm
The National Standard Innovation Management-Guide to Intellectual Property Management (Draft for Comments) was Issued
国家标准《创新管理-知识产权管理指南（征求意见稿）》公布
Issue Date: 2021-03-02
Recently, the "Guide to Intellectual Property Management for Innovation Management (Draft for Comments)" (the “Standard”) was published on the National Standards Information Public Service Platform.
This Standard is equivalent to the ISO 56005:2020 and follows the structure and requirements of the ISO/IEC guidelines in terms of structure and style. The Standard aims to address the following IP management-related issues at the strategic and implementation levels: creating an IP strategy to support organizational innovation; establishing systematic IP management in the innovation process; and applying consistent IP tools and methods to support efficient IP management.
Source: http://std.samr.gov.cn/gb/search/gbDetailed?id=625521C9A352C469E05397BE0A0A6CFA
Global Head of Dispute Resolution, Rouse
dclark@rouse.com
