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China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases “Status of Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Chinese Courts (2024)” – Criminal IP Enforcement Up 24% in 2024
On April 21, 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court released the “Status of Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Chinese Courts (2024)” (中国法院知识产权司法保护状况(2024年)) providing a wealth of data regarding Chinese IP litigation in 2024. Criminal IP enforcement continues to grow in China with Chinese courts receiving 9,120 first-instance criminal cases involving infringement on IP and […]
Beijing Intellectual Property Court: Artificial Intelligence Models Can Be Protected with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, Not the Copyright Law
In what is believed to be a case of first impression in China, on March 31, 2025, the Beijing IP Court, on appeal, ruled that Douyin (TikTok) was entitled to protection of its artificial intelligence (AI) transformation model under Article 2 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law but not under Copyright Law. Specifically, the Beijing IP […]
Shenzhen Releases Patent Subsidy Data – Huawei Received Over 35 Million RMB for Foreign Patent Grants
On April 14, 2025, the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the List of recipients of the second batch of special funds for intellectual property rights in Shenzhen in 2023 for foreign invention patent authorization (深圳市2023年第二批知识产权领域专项资金国外发明专利授权资助领款名单). Combined with the List of recipients of Shenzhen’s 2023 special fund for intellectual property rights for foreign […]
Chinese Invention Patent Grants Down Almost 21% in First Quarter of 2025; Trademark Registrations Down Almost 15%
Per statistics released by China’s Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on April 15, 2025, Chinese invention patent grants are down 20.99% in the first quarter of 2025 versus the first quarter of 2024. Specifically, the number of invention patents granted decreased by 52,870 to 199,012 grants. Utility model grants also dropped slightly by 2.33% year-on-year to 408,419 […]
CNIPA Reminds Applicants Not to Include Political Content in Patent Applications
On April 11, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Business Reminder on Further Standardizing the Requirements for Drafting Patent Application Documents (关于进一步规范专利申请文件撰写要求的业务提醒). The Reminder states that the background section of the specification specifically should not introduce political content not directly related to the technology and only use official maps from China’s Ministry […]
China’s State Council Releases White Paper “China’s Position on Certain Issues in China-US Economic and Trade Relations” – China Continuously Improves IP Protection and Prohibits Forced Technology Transfer
On April 9, 2025, China’s State Council Information Office released a white paper entitled “China’s Position on Certain Issues in China-US Economic and Trade Relations” (关于中美经贸关系若干问题的中方立场) in response to the ongoing trade war. With respect to intellectual property, the white paper states that China has continuously improved intellectual property protection and prohibits forced technology transfer. […]