Educational and Training Content to Advance Your IP Knowledge

On January 8, 2026, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Guidelines on Trademark Registration for Industrial Cluster Brands and Regional Brands (关于产业集群品牌和区域品牌申请注册商标的指引).  The Guidelines explain acceptable use of place names for collective trademarks and certification trademarks. Generally, place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level cannot be used as trademarks. […]

On January 7, 2026, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Excerpt from the Work Report at the 2026 National Intellectual Property Office Directors’ Conference (2026年全国知识产权局局长会议工作报告（摘编）). The Excerpt details IP achievements made during the 14th Five-Year Plan (running from 2021-2025) and lists key key tasks for 2026 including improving examination quality, conducting a rectification […]

Robert Hirning will present the next episode of the AI-Driven Innovation in Medical Technologies webinar series, when he presents “Patent Eligibility Challenges” on February 19. Marvin Beekman will moderate. In this presentation, Robert will discuss challenges in obtaining patents on AI-based medical technology, including patent eligibility and disclosure concerns for AI-related MedTech inventions in the US […]

On January 22, Marvin Beekman will present, “Patent Landscape and Trends,” with Robert Hirning moderating. This will be the first episode in new SLW webinar series, AI-Driven Innovation in Medical Technologies. This episode will provide an overview of recent trends of patent filings in AI-related MedTech areas, including a comparison of filing numbers and prosecution […]

On  January 4, 2026, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced it had revoked 4 Chinese patent firms’ licenses for filing ‘irregular’ patent applications using fabricated patent applicants based on stolen personal data. The firms in question had purchased stolen personal data from a Xu XX, who had been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison […]

On December 31, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the Opinions on Further Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection in the Photovoltaic Industry (国家知识产权局 工业和信息化部关于进一步加强光伏产业知识产权保护工作的意见).  The Opinions specify 11 key tasks: promote high-quality patent filing; improve the efficiency of patent pre-examination and examination; strengthen Intellectual Property risk […]

On December 31, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the Announcement No. 661 of the CNIPA and the NBS on the Added Value of Patent-Intensive Industries Nationwide in 2024 (国家知识产权局 国家统计局关于2024年全国专利密集型产业增加值数据的公告（第661号）) indicating the added value of patent-intensive industries in China in 2024 was 18,038.1 billion RMB, […]

On December 30, 2025, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Interpretation of the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Trademark Use 《关于加强商标使用管理的通知》解读) follows up on the Notice from the General Office of the CNIPA on Strengthening the Management of Trademark Use.  The Interpretation provides examples of six types of illegal and irregular trademark […]

On December 27, 2025, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) released the Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国对外贸易法) effective March 1, 2026. The Foreign Trade Law includes a chapter on intellectual property (IP) introducing trade sanctions for IP infringement based when it endangers the order of foreign trade and also targets specific […]

On December 27, 2025, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) released a draft of the Amended Trademark Law for Comment (中华人民共和国商标法（修订草案）).  Some initial thoughts: A dedicated chapter has been added to consolidate and refine the previously scattered trademark registration conditions. The use of the name, flag, emblem, and medals of the Communist Party of China as […]

On December 24, 2025, China’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Arbitration Work in Intellectual Property Disputes (关于加强知识产权纠纷仲裁工作的指导意见).  The Guiding Opinions are encouraging Chinese arbitration institutions to handle international arbitration cases. A translation follows. The original text is available here (Chinese only). In order to […]

China’s State Council has recently released the official holiday schedule for 2026. China’s Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) holiday will last nine days, making it the longest in history. China will continue to have weekend “make-up” days.  Patent deadlines are extended to the next working day, not including weekend make-up days while trademark deadlines are […]