In 2020, there have been numbers of amendments to laws and regulations started to take effect. These have significantly contributed to intellectual property rights protection in China, and it believes that more comprehensive legal system of IPR protection is going to be built in China in 2021.

    Patent

    The Revised "Patent Examination Guide" started to be implemented on February 1, 2020

    China National Intellectual Property Administration issued an announcement (No. 343) on the Revision of the "Patent Examination Guidelines" on December 31, 2019. To fully implement the decision and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on strengthening intellectual property protection, and respond to the innovation entities’ requirements of the patent application examination rules for new formats and fields such as artificial intelligence. It was decided to amend the "Patent Examination Guidelines".

    New pilot program for the China-Brazil Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) was launched since January 1, 2020

    As the Brazilian Industrial Property Office switched to the new PPH cooperation model, in accordance with the joint decision of the China National Intellectual Property Administration and the Brazilian Industrial Property Office, the two offices launched a new pilot project on January 1, 2020. The new project was made according to the new PPH cooperation model for five years, until December 31, 2024. After the new China-Brazil PPH pilot is launched, the applicant shall submit a PPH request to the two offices in accordance with the latest guidance documents.

    Amendments to the Singapore Patent Law officially implemented since January 1, 2020

    Since February 14, 2014, Singapore has reformed its patent system from a “self-assessment type” to an “active authorization type” and actively cultivates patent examiners. On February 28, 2017, Singapore passed an amendment to the Patent Law and made major changes to the patent system. This amendment to the Patent Law was officially implemented on January 1, 2020. The most substantial change is the cancellation of supplementary review system.

    India and Japan signed a Patent Examination Highway Agreement took effect on January 1, 2020

    India and Japan signed the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Agreement, and the pilot project will last for three years. On November 5, 2019, Japan initiated the PPH pilot project. Japan announced that it has signed the PPH Agreement with the Saudi Arabia Intellectual Property Office, which has come into effect on January 1, 2020.

    Trademark

    New Trademark Regulations in the French Intellectual Property Code took effect in 2020

    French legislators have reached an agreement on trademark law reform. The reform will have a significant impact on brand owners and competitors in the French market. According to the new Ordinance, new marks can be registered in France. The new Ordinance further clarifies the rights companies own after obtaining trademark protection. The Ordinance also stipulates the grounds for refusal of trademark registration (trademark opposition procedure), and updated the rules on query the validity of registered trademarks.

    Geographical Indication

    Russian Geographical Indication Law took effect on July 7, 2020

    Recently, the President of Russia signed the Russian Geographical Indication Law, which passed the first review in July 2018. The law was published on July 26, 2019, and has come into effect one year later (which is, July 27, 2020). Except for the legal liability clause on the illegal use of geographical indication symbols in unregistered geographical indications, it will be in effective from July 27, 2024.

    Design

    Japan's revised Design Act took effect on April 1, 2020

    The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) announced that according to the Cabinet Order on November 1, 2019, the revised "Design Act" has come into effect on April 1, 2020.

    Domain name

    Belarus's new mechanism to solve cybersquatting implemented on January 1, 2020

    On September 18, 2019, "Decree No. 350 related to the Internet use" formally came into effect in Belarus, introduced a new mechanism to solve the problem of cybersquatting. According to the provisions of the above-mentioned decree, from January 1, 2020, the information of domain name owners and domain names registered under the top-level domain names of Belarus can be provided electronically to the authorities, courts and judicial personnel of the country through the information system for free, and without the consent of the domain name owner. Companies and individuals in Belarus can also obtain the above-mentioned information for free, but they must submit a written request to the technical administrator of the domain name agency of their country.

    Laws and Regulations

    The "Regulations on Optimizing the Business Environment" implemented on January 1, 2020

    Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council recently signed a State Council Order. The "Regulations on Optimizing the Business Environment" were passed at the 66th Executive Meeting of the State Council on October 8, 2019, and will take effect on January 1, 2020. In terms of intellectual property rights, it is stipulated in the second chapter of the protection of market entities (Article 15) that the state shall establish a punitive compensation system for intellectual property infringement, promote the establishment of a rapid and coordinated protection mechanism for intellectual property rights; and improve the diversified settlement mechanism for intellectual property disputes and intellectual property rights protection assistance mechanism, and improve the protection of intellectual property rights. The state continues to deepen the reform of trademark registration and patent application facilitation and improve trademark registration and patent application examination efficiency.

    The "Foreign Investment Law" has come into effect on January 1, 2020

    On March 15, 2019, the Second Session of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress passed the "Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China", in which Article 22 mentioned that the state protects the intellectual property of foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises’ property rights, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of intellectual property rights holders and related rights holders; for intellectual property infringements, legal liabilities are strictly investigated in accordance with the law. This law shall come into force on January 1, 2020.

    The "Implementation Regulations (Draft) of the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China" was passed recently and implemented simultaneously with the Foreign Investment Law.

    From February 1, 2020, Jiangsu implemented severe penalties for serious violations of intellectual property rights

    Recently, Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Administration issued the “Regulations on Severe Punishment for Serious Violations in the Field of Market Supervision in Jiangsu Province”. This regulation shall come into effect on February 1, 2020. It mentioned that severe penalties shall be applied to serious violations of intellectual property rights in the field of market supervision.

Source: China IP News