According to CNIPA Announcement No. 481 "Interim Measures of Related Provisions after Accession to Hague Agreement", from May 5, 2022, applicants can file international design patent applications in English through CNIPA.

In order to facilitate applicants to submit relevant materials online in a form that complies with the Hague and the provisions of CNIPA, CNIPA will launch International Design Patent Application System. From May 5, 2022, applicants can use this system for registration and handling international design patent application issues.The  website  address  is  as  follows:   
https://hague-agreement-design.cponline.cnipa.gov.cn.Please refer to the operation manual for usage.

Please refer to the website: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2022/4/27/art_75_175252.html for the list and style of request forms related to international design patent applications. Applicants can visit "Form Download" column under the "Government Service" patent column on the website of CNIPA (http://www.cnipa.gov.cn).

CNIPA

April 22, 2022

Recently, the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China officially released the "Status of Intellectual Property Protection in China in 2021". The White Paper shows that in 2021, China has made positive progress in the construction of IP protection system, approval and registration, cultural development, and international cooperation etc.

In terms of protection effectiveness, China's IP protection in 2021 has been widely recognized by innovative entities in various countries and the international community. Social approval rating of IP protection continued to improve, reaching 80.61 points (percentage scale), an increase of 0.56 points over last year. According to the 2021 Global Innovation Index report released by the WIPO, China ranks 12th, rising 2 places from the previous year, and has maintained a positive trend of innovation leading for 9 consecutive years.

In terms of system construction, in 2021, China has revised and issued 2 IP-related laws and regulations; published 4 IP protection related judicial interpretations; and issued and implemented more than 20 policy documents related to IP protection.

In terms of approval and registration, the number of various types of IP approvals and registrations continued to grow, and the quality as well as efficiency of review improved significantly. In 2021, 696,000 invention patents were patented in China, a year-on-year increase of 31.3%. The number of trademark registrations was 7.739 million, a year-on-year increase of 34.3%. Domestic applicants submitted 5,928 applications for the international registration of Madrid trademarks, ranking third in the Madrid Union. The total number of copyright registrations was 6,264,400, a year-on-year increase of 24.30%. There were 9,721 applications for new varieties of agricultural plants, a year-on-year increase of 22.85%.

In terms of cultural development, in 2021, the total number of publicity reports on major topics on IP protection exceeded 100,000, and the number of participants in relevant topics on new media platforms reached nearly 4 billion.

In terms of international cooperation, China continued to deepen exchanges and cooperation with international organizations such as the WIPO and intellectual property institutions in various countries and regions, actively participated in the formulation of international rules, and promoted the development of the global IP governance system toward a more fair and reasonable direction. China has formally applied for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Since 1998, China has compiled and released the White Paper on the Status of IP Protection for more than 20 consecutive years, introducing the status of IP protection in China to all circles at home and abroad.

(Source: the CNIPA)

Recently, the CNIPA concluded three administrative adjudication cases under the early resolution mechanism for drug patent disputes. This is the first batch of administrative cases of this type concluded in the country since the implementation of the new Patent Law.

It is reported that the first batch of cases concluded involved patent rights of inventions No. 201210135209.X, No. 201510599477.0 and No. 201010151552.4, and the drug variety is "oxycodone hydrochloride sustained-release tablet" from Purdue Pharma L.P. The company requested confirmation that the generic drug-related technical solutions of Yichang Humanwell Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. fell within the protection scope of the above-mentioned patent rights. The collegial panel of the CNIPA put the case on record in accordance with the law. After trial, it was finally confirmed that the technical solutions related to generic drugs did not fall within the protection scope of the above-mentioned patent rights. In the administrative adjudication case involving the patent right of invention No. 201010151552.4, the collegial panel also tried the defense of the patent registration error raised by Yichang Humanwell Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and finally determined that the defense was untenable.

The above-mentioned cases are the first batch of adjudication cases for early resolution of drug patent disputes through administrative channels, and the trial period of these cases is only six months.

(Source: the CNIPA)

The China-France Seminar on Geographical Indications, under the theme of "Quality Management and Marketing of Products with Geographical Indications (GIs)", was held virtually on April 8, 2022. Shen Changyu, Commissioner of the CNIPA, Pascal Faure, Director General of the French National Institute for Industrial Property (INPI), and Marie Guittard, Director of the French National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO) delivered opening remarks.

This seminar is one of the important measures for the two sides to jointly implement the Protocol on Cooperation between China and France on Geographical Indications. At the meeting, more than 1,000 representatives of the two countries conducted an in-depth and lively discussion on four aspects, namely, EU's supervision system for GIs, French's quality control of GIs products, the successful experience in the marketing and promotion of places where GI-certified products are produced, and the protection of GIs and the normative use of official signs in China.

(Source: CNIPA Official WeChat Account)

On April 7, 2022, the 2022 IP5 Deputy Heads Meeting was hosted by the European Patent Office (EPO) through video conferencing. Lu Pengqi, Deputy Commissioner of the CNIPA, led a delegation to attend the Meeting. Christoph Ernst, Deputy Director of the EPO, chaired the Meeting. Iwasaki Susumu, Deputy Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office (JPO), Kim Yong-sun, Deputy Head of the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), and Valencia Martin Wallace, Deputy Commissioner for Patents, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), led their delegations to the 2022 IP5 Deputy Heads Meeting. Lisa Jorgensen, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), attended the meeting as an observer.

At the meeting, IP5 Deputy Heads reviewed the cooperation project proposals to be submitted to IP5 Heads for approval. This Meeting lays a solid foundation for the upcoming IP5 Heads of Office with IP5 Industry Meeting and the IP5 Heads of Office Meeting to be held in June.

(Source: CNIPA Official WeChat Account)

Case Brief:

Tencent Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd. enjoy the copyright to the game "Honor of King". Hubei Jixuan Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Hubei Jili Network Technology Co., Ltd. provided a rental platform service for the game accounts of "Honor of King" through the "Shan Dian Zu Hao" APP, and propagandized and popularized the APP on the website www.sdzuhao.com operated thereby. Changsha Qili Network Technology Co., Ltd. promoted the APP and distributed the game accounts through the website www.pc6.com operated thereby. The two plaintiffs believed that the defendants' behavior constituted unfair competition, and thus the plaintiffs first applied to the court for pre-litigation behavior preservation, and then brought the lawsuit to the court, requesting the defendants to stop the infringement, eliminate the impact and compensate for the losses.

Judgment Result:

The People's Court of Kaifu District, Changsha City held that Hubei Jixuan Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Hubei Jili Network Technology Co., Ltd., as operators in the Internet industry, ignored industry practices and implemented accounts rental under the premise of knowing that the real-name system was required for game accounts, and turned obstruction to the operation and management of the two plaintiffs into its own competitive advantage, and such act violated the principle of good faith and business ethics, caused a negative impact on the ecological environment of the industry in which platform operators in the Internet industry gain a competitive advantage through legal operation and standardized management, and disrupted the market competition order in the Internet industry, and also damaged the legitimate rights and interests of the two plaintiffs as operators and many normal real-name game users as consumers. Changsha Qili Network Technology Co., Ltd., as the operator of the Internet platform, failed to fulfill its prudent management obligations, propagandized and promoted the "Shan Dian Zu Hao" APP and distributed game accounts on the website www.pc6.com it operated, which also disrupted the market competition order. The acts of the three defendants all constituted unfair competition. The three defendants were ordered to stop the infringement, and Hubei Jixuan Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Hubei Jili Network Technology Co., Ltd. were ordered to publish a statement on the website www.sdzuhao.com operated thereby to eliminate the impact and compensate the two plaintiffs for economic losses as well as reasonable expenses for rights protection totaling more than 430,000 yuan.

Typical Significance:

This is the first case of pre-litigation behavior preservation for game account rental. On the one hand, this case guides the operators of Internet platforms to prudently manage the platforms they operate and gain competitive advantages through legal operations; on the other hand, in accordance with the Cybersecurity Law and the Law on the Protection of Minors, this case focuses on the protection of social public interests as well as the rights and interests of minors, and actively implements China's policy on the real-name system on the Internet and the prevention of minors' addiction, so as to protect the physical and mental health of minors. This case was selected into the 2021 Top Ten Copyright Cases of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) China and the 2021 Top Ten Judicial Cases of China's Internet Governance.

Case Brief:

Company A is the first innovator to start the research and development of new energy vehicles in China. In March 2011, the defendant Zhang X joined Company A and served as the executive deputy director of New Energy Center, the director of the Center, and the vice president of the Passenger Vehicle Design Institute. During the tenure, the defendant Zhang X, together with the outsiders in the case, established Company B, which was highly competitive with Company A. The defendant Zhang X received 45% of the shares with technique in the name of his younger brother, and lured a number of core technical personnel for job-hopping from Company A to Company B. In December 2013, after Zhang X resigned from Company A, he immediately joined Company B serving as a senior executive. In only about a month, Zhang X, as one of the inventors, and Company B, as a patent applicant, filed more than 80 patent applications with the CNIPA. Zhang X and Company B were suspected of illegally disclosing the technical secrets of Company A, and Company B was also suspected of using Company A's technical secrets in its foreign business cooperation projects.

In order to protect its legitimate rights and interests, Company A filed a case concerning patent ownership dispute and technical secret infringement dispute with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court.

Typical Significance:

This case is a typical IP infringement dispute caused by corporate executive's job-hopping, involving patent ownership disputes and technical secret infringement disputes. In this case, the plaintiff actively provided evidence for its own existing technical research and development materials and process, the technical information involved meets the requirements for trade secrets, and the technical information disclosed by Company B's patent application and used by Company B in foreign business projects was compared with that of Company A to preliminarily prove that Company B had a great possibility of infringement. In the case that Company B had no good cause to prove the legitimate source of its technique or independent research and development, the court reasonably presumed that the ownership of the patent right in the case shall belong to Company A, and Company B's act of infringing trade secrets was established.

On April 21, on the occasion of the 22nd World Intellectual Property Day, the Supreme People's Court held a press conference on the IP Publicity Week, releasing the top 10 IP cases and 50 typical IP cases of Chinese courts in 2021.

Among them, 3 cases represented by Unitalen were selected into 50 typical IP cases, namely:

★Case of disputes over trademark infringement: disputes over trademark infringement and unfair competition between China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd., China Resources Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd., and Huarun Lighting Store, in Jinniu District, Chengdu city [Supreme People's Court (2021) Zui Gao Fa Min Zai No. 338 Civil Judgment]

★Case of disputes over unfair competition: disputes over unfair competition between Tencent Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd. and Hubei Jixuan Network Technology Co., Ltd., etc. [Hunan Changsha People's Court of Kaifu District (2021) Xiang 0105 Min Chu No. 11329 Civil Judgment]

★Case of disputes over unfair competition: disputes over trademark infringement and unfair competition between Kingdee Software (China) Co., Ltd., etc. and Chengdu Moneywise Office Supplies Co., Ltd. [Sichuan Chengdu Intermediate People's Court (2020) Chuan 01 Min Chu No. 4310 Civil Judgment]

On April 20, 2022, the High Court of Hunan Province announced to the public 15 typical cases of IP judicial protection of Hunan court. "Case Concerning Disputes over Unfair Competition of Tencent Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd. Suing Hubei Jixuan Network Technology Co., Ltd., Hubei Jili Network Technology Co., Ltd., and Changsha Qili Network Technology Co., Ltd., etc." represented by Unitalen was selected. This is the first case of pre-litigation behavior preservation for game account rental, and this case was also selected into the 2021 Top Ten Copyright Cases of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) China and the 2021 Top Ten Judicial Cases of China's Internet Governance.

On April 19, the Chongqing Higher People's Court and the Sichuan Higher People's Court jointly held a joint press conference on the IP judicial protection of the Sichuan-Chongqing District People's Court. "Case Concerning Disputes over Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Between Chongqing Pigeon Electric Wire & Cable Co., Ltd. and Chongqing GE HUANG Electric Wire and Cable Group Co., Ltd., Happy Time Building Materials Management Department of High-tech Industrial Development Zone" represented by Unitalen was selected as one of the top ten typical cases of IP judicial protection by Chongqing court in 2021.

Related Link: Damages of 10 Million Yuan Awarded by the Court! 10-year Trademark Dispute between Pigeon Company and GE HUANG Group Finally Settled

On April 26, 2022, the Chengdu Court released the top ten typical cases of IP judicial protection of 2021. "Case Concerning Dispute over Copyright Infringement between ALPA CAPAUL & WEBER AG and Guo X, Deng X" represented by Unitalen Law Firm Shanghai Branch was selected with honor!

On April 26, Beijing Trademark Association released the "Top Ten Typical Cases of Trademark Litigation" and "Top Ten Typical Cases of Trademark Non-Litigation" in 2021. Four cases represented by Unitalen were selected, namely:

★Top Ten Typical Cases of Trademark Litigation in 2021

·Case of disputes over trademark infringement and unfair competition between China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd., China Resources Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd., and Huarun Lighting Store, in Jinniu District, Chengdu city

·Case of disputes over trademark infringement of CHATEAU LAFITE ROTHSCHILD suing the real estate name "拉斐水岸" (English name as "CHATEAU LAFITE")

★Top Ten Typical Cases of Trademark Non-Litigation in 2021

·Invalidation case concerning trademark "米盧"

·Invalidation case concerning trademark "圣豫(SHENGYU)"

On the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day, Unitalen released the top ten typical cases in 2021 to share with colleagues from all walks of life.

Top Ten Cases of Unitalen in 2021

1.Retrial case of disputes over trademark infringement and unfair competition between China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd., China Resources Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd., and Huarun Lighting Business Department, in Jinniu District, Chengdu city

2.Case of pre-litigation behavior prohibition regarding the game account rental for "Honor of King" between Tencent Company and Two Hubei Network Companies etc.

3.Case of second instance of trademark infringement dispute between CHATEAU LAFITE ROTHSCHILD and the real estate name "拉斐水岸" of Li Shi Hong Ya

4.Case of disputes over trade secret infringement between Kingdee Company and Moneywise Company, Huang Yang

5.The administrative litigation case concerning the review of revocation of the trademark "京師" between Beijing Normal University and the CNIPA, the third person Liu Dongyang

6.Case of Unitalen representing Company A winning the technical secret infringement dispute against its former employees and the third-party Company B

7.Case of patent infringement litigation between M-I Co., Ltd. from the United States and a company in Hebei province

8.Case of patent infringement between a global consumer goods company from the United States and a company in Hangzhou

9.Case of patent invalidation concerning all-terrain motorcycles between CFMOTO and a technology company

10.Case of right protection of the Korean patent between Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls Co., Ltd. and a Zhejiang company

Recently, Unitalen was awarded the title of "Excellent Supplier" in 2021 by the client Kingdee Group.

Kingdee Group and Unitalen have cooperated in the field of IP for more than ten years. Kingdee Group has always been an industry benchmark in terms of IP protection. Kingdee Group appreciated the high sense of responsibility and professionalism of Unitalen team for its serious and active cooperation and Kingdee expected for the future cooperation with Unitalen to create a new chapter of development.