Overview of China's Patent System and Office | China Patent Law Guide

Overview

The first China Patent Law was drafted in 1984 as part of a central drive toward modernizing the country into an industrial power. On April 1, 1985, the first Patent Law of the People's Republic of China came into force, with later amendments to China's patent law in 1992, 2000, 2008, and 2020.

The guiding principle of the China Patent Law is as follows:

The Patent Law of the People's Republic of China is enacted in order to protect the lawful rights and interests of patentees, encourage invention and creative activities, promote the application of inventions and creations, enhance innovation capability and facilitate the advancement of science and technology and the economic and social development.

The most important international treaties that China has acceded to, which impact the day-to-day work of patent officers and practitioners, are:

• The Paris Convention
• The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
• WTO's Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Agreement (TRIPs)

The purpose of this online handbook is to provide global patent practitioners with a handy, comprehensive, and continuously updated guide on China patent law. The handbook is divided into three parts, focusing on three major elements of the China patent law, i.e. patent registration, enforcement, and transaction.

Patent office

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) is a vice-ministerial-level state agency under the State Administration for Market Regulation of China. The China Patent Office (CPO) is a part of the CNIPA.

CNIPA's responsibilities in relation to patents are set out below:

• The CNIPA is responsible for the administration of patent-related work nationwide. It accepts and examines patent applications in a uniform way and grants patent rights in accordance with the law.
• The patent administrative departments under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government are responsible for patent administration within their respective administrative areas.
• The CNIPA shall - according to the requirements of objectivity, fairness, correctness, and timeliness - handle any applications and requests relating to patents in accordance with the law.
• The CNIPA shall strengthen the building of a patent information-related public service system, release patent information in a complete, accurate, and timely manner, provide patent-related basic data, and publish patent gazettes on a regular basis, therefore promoting the dissemination and utilization of patent information.
• Before an application for a patent is published or announced, personnel of CNIPA and other persons involved in the application process are obligated to keep the contents of the application secret.

(By?Dr. Jian Xu. Last updated: Jan 2023)

- This article is an excerpt from my E-book, 'China Patent Law Handbook: A Concise Reference Guide for Legal Professionals,' available on Amazon. You are welcome to check it out (and read it for free if you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber).

- Contact:?[email protected]