In order to summarize and sort out the implementation of diversified mediation works of intellectual property (IP) disputes, refine the experienced practices of diversified mediation of IP disputes, and select a number of outstanding cases of "Court to Mediation" IP dispute mediation, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), together with the Supreme People's Court, organized and carried out the collection of diversified mediation model practices and cases of IP disputes, and, on the basis of cases submitted by local IP authorities and people's courts nationwide, selected the first batch of ten typical model practices and ten cases from ten provinces (cities), which are hereby published.

Attachments:

1. Summary Table of Typical Model Practices and Cases of Diversified Mediation of IP Disputes from 2021 to 2022

2. Typical Model Practices and Cases of Diversified Mediation of IP Disputes from 2021 to 2022

(Source: CNIPA website)

Recently, China's first data IP infringement loss insurance was successfully issued, providing a series of risk insurance for IP infringement losses, emergency response costs, data recovery costs, and rights protection costs for data legally owned by an enterprise in Zhejiang province and certified in the data intellectual property registration system or certification platform.

In recent years, the Utilization Promotion Department of the CNIPA, together with relevant departments of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), has guided PICC and other insurance institutions to build an IP insurance product system, developed more than 20 insurance products for various IP rights, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, integrated circuit layout designs, new plant varieties and trade secrets, cumulatively having provided risk protection worth over 110 billion yuan for 46,000 IP rights of 28,000 technology enterprises.

(Source: CNIPA Official WeChat Account)

In May, 2023, the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan, China, passed amendments to some articles of the Trademark Act. The official effective date of the amended articles has not been announced yet. The key points of this amendments are as follows:

· the accelerated review mechanism for trademark applications is revised and enlarged;

· a trademark agent management mechanism is established and the work rights and interests of existing trademark practitioners are protected;

· the process for trademark owners to receive notifications from the customs and conduct infringement determination is simplified, that is, trademark owners can first make judgment through photo archives provided by the customs platform, and then personally go to the customs for infringement determination if necessary;

· qualified trademark applicant bodies are revised and enlarged, including partnership organizations (such as law firms, architecture firms), legally established non-corporate entities (such as temples, associations, production-sale groups), and legally registered sole proprietorship or partnership firms;

· the applicable requirements for reasonable use of defenses in specific circumstances are clarified;

· it is clarified that trademarks that contain functional elements shall not be registered, unless the elements are represented by dashed lines;

· in the article "a trademark application shall be rejected if the proposed trademark is identical with the name of a famous juristic person, entity or other group, and hence likely to cause confusion with the relevant public", the requirement of "identical with" is amended to "identical with or similar to";

· an exception to the exhaustion of trademark rights is added, i.e., in cases involving parallel imports, "in order to prevent deterioration, damage, unauthorized processing, modification of the goods after circulation in the market, or for any other fair reasons", trademark owners may claim trademark rights in relation to the goods;

· the qualification of a petitioner requesting for invalidation declaration based on absolute reasons shall be enlarged from interested parties to anyone.

(Source: Unitalen)

The IP5 Statistics Report 2021 was jointly prepared by the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japanese Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The main content of the report includes the following four parts: the first part is an introduction to the five offices, mainly introducing the latest development of the five offices, as well as relevant data statistics; the second part introduces global patent activities, including global patent applications for invention, authorizations, patent application flows among countries/regions, and family applications; the third part involves patent activities of the five offices, which, by comparing the patent application and authorization data of the five offices in 2020 and 2021, shows the latest patent activities of the five offices; and the last part is about the five offices and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which introduces the latest situation of the patent activities of the five offices using the PCT. The IP5 Statistics Report 2021 comprehensively reflects the latest situation of patent activities of the five offices and is an important statistical material for studying and analyzing the global patent development.

IP5 Statistics Report 2021 (Chinese version)

IP5 Statistics Report 2021 (English version)

(Source: CNIPA website)

According to a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) acceleration agreement between the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), the CNIPA-INPI PPH pilot program will come into effect on June 1, 2023 and would last for five years until May 31, 2028.

(Source: CNIPA website)

Brief of the case

Recently, Unitalen's client, Qingdao A Company (hereinafter referred to as "A Company") contacted Unitalen and alleged that it found that the carton forming machine exhibited by Hebei B Company (hereinafter referred to as "B Company") at the 13th China Dongguang International Carton Packaging Machinery Expo was suspected of infringing on a plurality of its patent rights, and hoped that Unitalen's attorney team could draw up a right protection plan to stop B Company's infringement acts.

Considering that the exhibition only lasts for three days, the Unitalen attorney team, with their experience and professional level in handling cases, quickly developed a rights protection plan for the client based on the situations. After commission confirmed by A Company, the Unitalen's attorney team immediately began their work: on the one hand, on the day of commission, they screened and selected suitable patents for A Company as the basis for right protection; on the other hand, in the morning of the second day of the exhibition, in order to prevent failure of obtaining evidence of infringement after the exhibition, our attorneys invited a notary to the exhibition and notarized and preserved the infringement facts of B Company. In the afternoon of the same day, our attorneys actively contacted and coordinated with the head of the IP management unit at the exhibition site, and in his accompany, conducted an on-site investigation into the infringing equipment at the exhibition site and made preliminary negotiations on behalf of A Company with the head of B Company regarding their willingness to settle the dispute. On the third day of the exhibition, under the coordination of the local patent administration department, both parties reached an agreement through friendly consultation, and finally signed a settlement agreement, agreeing that B Company should immediately stop displaying the infringing carton forming machine at the exhibition and immediately stop the infringing acts. At this point, our attorney team has successfully defended the legitimate rights and interests of A Company.

Highlight of the case

In recent years, economic activities in exhibitions have gradually flourished, and the IP right infringement acts during exhibitions have also correspondingly risen. However, the short exhibiting time has greatly limited the attorney team's handling of highly professional patent protection cases. Our attorneys have successfully assisted A Company in safeguarding its rights mainly through the following two aspects:

Rapid response, specialization and cooperation

It took only two and a half days from accepting the client's commission to the parties reaching consensus and signing a settlement agreement, which benefited from the rapid response of our attorneys who divided tasks clearly within the team. At the same time, our attorneys separately pushed for notarization and preservation and filed administrative complaints, and timely synchronized progress and intelligence information with each other. Ultimately, B Company stopped exhibiting infringing equipment after the second day of the exhibition.

Multiple strikes, joint force formed

In order to fight against infringement acts of B Company, we have developed a right protection strategy that balances administrative and judicial approaches: firstly, to advance the case-filing process in accordance with administrative investigation and punishment procedures; secondly, to push for evidence preservation for potential infringement lawsuits; thirdly, to make full use of the mediation mechanism for IP disputes in the exhibition to meet the urgent need of safeguarding rights in the exhibition. Advancements in multiple paths with mutual cooperation and formation of a joint force ensure the ultimate success of the right protection action.

Brief of the case

International Textile Group, INC is a diversified American textile manufacturer headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Many cars worldwide use its safety fabrics, and its shell fabrics and seat cushions are produced in different places (United States, Germany, Poland, China, and Mexico).

In March 2013, International Textile Group, INC filed with the CNIPA for a patent application for an invention entitled "Flame retardant fabric and clothing manufactured therefrom", which was granted the patent right in April, 2017. The flame-retardant fabric and clothing manufactured therefrom, as claimed by this patent, are designed to provide protection against heat and flames to prevent burns for wearers, and are particularly suitable for firefighters, other service providers, and military personnel. Regarding the granted patent, Deng, a natural person, submitted a request for invalidation to the then Patent Reexamination Board in July, 2017. After trial, the Patent Reexamination Board made an Examination Decision on the Request for Invalidation in January, 2018, deciding to uphold the validity of the patent right on the basis of all amended claims of the patentee. In response to the above Decision, Deng later filed an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. After trial, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court held that: the sued Decision does not violate the principle of legality and the principle of hearing, the amendment does not go beyond the scope of disclosure of the original claims and description, and involves an inventive step and should be upheld. Afterwards, neither party involved filed an appeal to the Supreme People’s Court within the statutory time limit.

Typicality of the case

This case involves consideration of unexpected technical effects when the inventive step of a patent for invention is determined. In this case, the court held that: “since there may be a plurality of technical problems to be solved and a plurality of effects to be achieved in one patent and reflected through multiple performance parameters, when whether an invention has achieved unexpected technical effects is determined, as long as the distinguishing features of the invention over the closest prior art make a certain technical effect of the technical solution of this patent unexpected to those skilled in the art, the invention can be considered to have achieved an unexpected technical effect, and it is not required to reach an ‘unexpected’ level in all technical effects. This clarified the proof criteria for an invention to achieve “an unexpected technical effect”, which has important reference value for patent authorization and confirmation cases that emphasize the inventiveness based on technical effects. Such cases are related to the application, management and protection levels of patent rights nationwide, and have fundamental and overall significance in the entire patent system of China.

On the morning of May 12, 2023, ZHU Yongqiang, director of the IP Department of Shanghai Technology Center of DENSO (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and his delegation paid a special visit to Unitalen to express sincere gratitude for the efforts made by Unitalen in helping DENSO well-known trademark recognition and comprehensive protection of trademark rights. YU Zehui, president of Unitalen, LI Yang, deputy director of Unitalen, ZHANG Yazhou, attorney and senior partner of Unitalen Law Office, and attorney LI Yonghang warmly welcomed the guests and accompanied the discussion.

DENSO CORPORATION was founded in Japan in 1949 and is one of the main global suppliers of automotive components. It has been selected as one of the Fortune 500 companies for many consecutive years. In 2003, DENSO CORPORATION established a comprehensive company in China - DENSO (China) Investment Co., Ltd., responsible for the production, sales, research and development of related products and other business activities in China. After long-term and extensive use and promotion, the registered trademarks " " and " " of DENSO CORPORATION approved for use on related goods in Class 7 and Class 12 have enjoyed high popularity and reputation among the relevant Chinese public.

In response to the illegal acts of some infringers in the market who imitate and copy the registered trademark "DENSO" and use their infringing marks on different types of goods to mislead the public, DENSO CORPORATION has entrusted Unitalen to handle relevant legal affairs regarding the protection of the exclusive right to use the registered trademark "DENSO". Unitalen attaches great importance to this matter and has established a specialized working group for the "DENSO" case, led by attorney and partner of Unitalen, ZHANG Yazhou, teamed with attorneys LI Yonghang, Wen Huaqing, and ZUO Siyu, for over three years since evidence investigations. Finally, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court made a judgment in accordance with the law, determining that the registered trademarks " " and " " of DENSO CORPORATION are well-known trademarks, and ordered the infringers to immediately cease the act of infringing the exclusive right to use the registered trademarks of DENSO CORPORATION and compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses.

The above case is the first case in which cross-class protection for the registered trademark "DENSO" is realized in China. Through this case, Unitalen successfully represented the client to obtain for its registered trademark "DENSO" the protection that is commensurate with its existing popularity, and effectively safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the client.

On May 16-20, 2023, the 145^th International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting, a global event of the IP industry, was held in Singapore. This is the second time the INTA has held an annual meeting in Asia, and it is also the restart of the offline annual meeting since three years ago. The event attracted more than 7,000 professionals from over 140 countries and was an unprecedentedly grand occasion.

As a member of the INTA, Unitalen has actively participated in the INTA annual meeting for many years, has actively hosted the INTA Beijing regional warm-up event every year, and has maintained a good cooperative relationship with the INTA. Unitalen sent a delegation led by YU Zehui, president of Unitalen, with 18 senior partners and senior trademark attorneys attending the grand event. The delegation had extensive exchanges with IP colleagues from around the world and took this opportunity to meet more business partners. They exchanged professional information and insights with international peers on trends of the IP laws, cutting-edge issues, and practical experience, laying a solid foundation for cooperation in the future.

Recently, Mozlen, a leading trademark AI retrieval and management platform in the industry, released the Global List "MOZLEN 500" of China Foreign-related Trademark Agencies. Among nearly 20,000 trademark agencies registered with the CNIPA, Unitalen ranked TOP 10 in the "Comprehensive Ranking of China's 500 Foreign-related Trademark Agencies" and was rated AAA+++ (the highest level) by virtue of its outstanding experience in trademark agency for international clients, comprehensive strength in business and international influence, performed outstandingly in business rankings in many key countries and received important recommendations (Japan, UK, South Korea, Singapore, British Virgin, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, Qatar).

On May 25-26, 2023, the 16^th Unitalen IP Forum - "High-end Forum on Multidimensional Focus on Enterprise IP" was successfully held in Qiandao Lake, Hangzhou. This forum was jointly hosted by Zhongguancun Yuanjian Intellectual Property Innovation Research Institute, Unitalen Attorneys at Law, Unitalen Law Office, Hangzhou Branch of Unitalen Attorneys at Law, attracting more than 100 enterprise representatives from various industries across the country to participate.

Experts from well-known enterprises and professional law firms were invited to discuss practical issues related to enterprise IP rights. The topics covered hot topics in various perspectives such as enterprise patent management practices, disputes in the field of patents and trademarks, and the latest trial perspectives of the court, aiming to jointly discuss the current situation and future plans of IP protection at home and abroad through the dissemination of new concepts and interpretation of policies, so as to help enterprises gain a more comprehensive understanding of new paths to strengthen IP protection and promote innovative development of enterprises.

Recently, the Global Forum on Intellectual Property Protection and Innovation, a parallel event of the Zhongguancun Forum, was successfully held at the Exhibition Center of Zhongguancun Science Park. At the forum, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court released ten typical cases of patent authorization and confirmation, among which the case on invalidation of patent for invention of International Textile Group, INC represented by Unitalen was successfully selected.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court deems that the case on invalidation of patent for invention of International Textile Group, INC is one of the few cases in judicial practice that claims inventiveness on the ground of the achievement of "unexpected technical effects" and is supported by the court. It has important reference value for patents that emphasize inventiveness based on technical effects.