1. The amended Patent Law

On Oct 17, 2020, the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress adopted a motion on amending the Patent Law. The amended Patent Law came into effect on June 1, 2021.

The new Patent Law mainly amended three key parts.

First, it strengthened the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the patentee, including increasing compensation for infringement of patent rights, stipulating punitive damages of one to five times for intentional infringement, raising the upper limit of statutory damages to 5 million yuan ($781,128), improving the burden of proof and patent administrative protection, and adding a principle of good faith and provisions on a compensation system for patent terms and procedures for the early settlement of drug patent disputes.

Second, it promotes the implementation and use of patents, including improving the service invention system, adding an open patent licensing system, and strengthening patent transformation services.

Third, it improves the patent authorization system, including further improving the design protection system, increasing the application of a novelty grace period, and improving the patent evaluation report system.

2. The amended Copyright Law

On Nov 11, 2020, the 23rd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress adopted a motion on amending the Copyright Law. The amended Copyright Law came into effect on June 1, 2021.

The new Copyright Law improved relevant provisions on the protection of copyright on the internet, especially by substantially increasing the upper limit of statutory damages for infringement and clarifying the principle of punitive damages.

3. Measures for Administrative Adjudication of Major Patent Infringement Disputes

To better implement the deployment of the CPC Central Committee and State Council on comprehensively strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights and to safeguard the market order of fair competition and the legitimate rights and interests of the patentee and the public, the China National Intellectual Property Administration, or CNIPA, released the Administrative Adjudication Measures for Major Patent Infringement Disputes.

The Measures, supported by the Patent Law, provide an alternative to patent litigation to resolve patent infringement disputes in China. The Measures went into force on June 1, 2021.

4. Interim Measures for the Processing of Related Examination Businesses Regarding the Implementation of the Amended Patent Law

The Patent Law reform has yet to deliver the implementing rules to the new Patent Law effective on June 1, 2021. In order to ensure the implementation of the amended Patent Law, the CNIPA has formulated a set of Interim Measures relevant to basic examination matters under the new law. The Interim Measures went into effect on June 1, 2021.

5. The Patent Navigation Guidelines (GB/T39551-2020) series national standards

The Patent Navigation Guidelines (GB/T39551-2020) series of recommended national standards drafted by the CNIPA was approved and released on Nov 9, 2020 and was officially implemented on June 1, 2021.

The series of national standards is a summary of the work achievements of the CNIPA on patent navigation over the years. It includes seven standards – general rules, special guidelines for regional planning, industrial planning, enterprise operation, research and development activities, talent management, and service requirements.

6. National standards for the Intellectual Property Protection and Management of E-commerce Platforms

To better implement the deployment of the CPC Central Committee and State Council on comprehensively strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights and to further strengthen the IP protection work of e-commerce platforms, the CNIPA, along with other relevant departments, formulated the national standards for the Intellectual Property Protection and Management of E-commerce Platforms. The standards were released on Nov 9, 2020 and came into effect on June 1, 2021.

7. New request forms related to the amended Patent Law

According to the Interim Measures for the Processing of Related Examination Businesses Regarding the Implementation of the Amended Patent Law, the CNIPA has made adjustments to the request forms related to the amended Patent Law. The revised forms were put into effect on June 1, 2021. The old versions involving the amendments were invalidated at the same time.