April 27,2021

On April 25, 2021, the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China issued a white paper entitled "Status of Intellectual Property Protection in China in 2020". The paper summarized the practice and progress of IPR protection in China in 2020 from the aspects of protection effect, system construction, examination and approval registration, cultural construction and international cooperation, and introduced the achievements of IPR protection work in the past year.

One is the effectiveness of protection. Relevant departments have strengthened judicial protection and administrative law enforcement of intellectual property rights, continued to promote special governance in key areas, and improved working mechanisms, providing a strong institutional guarantee for implementing innovation-driven development strategies and fostering a stable, fair and predictable business environment, the white paper said. By 2020, China's achievements in IPR protection have been widely recognized by innovation entities around the world and the international community. Social satisfaction with intellectual property protection reached a new high of 80.05 points (out of 100). According to the Global Innovation Index 2020 report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China ranks 14th.

GII 2020 shows that the geographic distribution of innovation continues to shift. India, China, the Philippines and Vietnam are the economies that have improved the most in the GII innovation rankings over the past few years. All four of these economic embodiments are in the top 50.

The best performing economies in the GII are still almost exclusively in the high-income group, with China climbing the ranking rapidly in recent years and remaining the only middle-income economy in the top 30 of the GII this year, at 14th place. (Said by: WIPO Releases Global Innovation Index 2020: Who Funds Innovation?)

Second, in the aspect of system building. According to the strategic plan of comprehensively advancing the rule of law, all relevant departments have performed their duties in accordance with the law, improved the system of laws and regulations on intellectual property, and improved the rule of law in intellectual property protection, the white paper said.

In 2020, China revised and promulgated four laws and regulations related to intellectual property

(1) Laws and regulations  On October 17, 2020, the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress adopted the Decision on Amending the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China. The decision will take effect on June 1, 2021.

On November 11, 2020, the 23rd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress adopted the Decision on Amending the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China >. The decision will take effect on June 1, 2021.

On December 26, 2020, the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress passed the Amendment to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (XI), which amended the crime of infringing intellectual property rights and other charges. The amendment will take effect on March 1, 2021.

On August 7, 2020, the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Provisions on the Transfer of Suspected Criminal Cases by Administrative Law Enforcement Organs was promulgated and implemented, further clarifying the standards and procedures for the transfer of suspected criminal cases by administrative law enforcement organs in the field of intellectual property rights to criminal judicial organs.

The new modified:

Patent Law of the People's Republic of China

Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China

Amendment to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China

Provisions on the transfer of suspected criminal cases by administrative law enforcement organs

Six judicial interpretations on IPR protection were issued

On August 24th, 2020, the Supreme People's Court trial committee by the 1810th meeting of the Supreme People's Court on the trial of patent authorization made by some issues of legal provisions shall be applicable to the administrative case (a) the Supreme People's Court about commercial secret infringement civil cases provisions on some issues of applicable law, released on September 10, 2020, Effective as of September 12, 2020.

On August 24, 2020, the 1810th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court passed the "Replies of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in the Dispute of Infringement of Internet Intellectual Property Rights", which was promulgated on September 12, 2020 and shall come into force on September 14, 2020.

The 1811th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on August 31, 2020 and the 48th Meeting of the Thirteenth Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on August 21, 2020 adopted the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Some Issues Concerning the Specific Application of the Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement (III). Promulgated on September 12, 2020 and effective as of September 14, 2020.

On September 17, 2020, the Decision of the Ministry of Public Security of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Revising the Standards for Filing and Prosecuting Criminal Cases of Infringement of Commercial Secrets was issued.
On November 9, 2020, the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court adopted the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Evidence for Intellectual Property Rights in Civil Procedure at its 1815th Meeting. The Provisions were promulgated on November 16, 2020 and shall come into force on November 18, 2020.

More than 20 policy documents related to intellectual property protection were issued and implemented

1. Macro protection policy

The General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Plan for Promoting the Implementation of Opinions on Strengthening IPR Protection for the Period 2020-2021 in April 2020.

The 2020 Plan for Deepening the Implementation of the National Intellectual Property Strategy and Accelerating the Construction of an Intellectual Property Power was issued by the Office of the Interministerial Joint Conference on the Implementation of the Intellectual Property Strategy under the State Council on May 13, 2020.

The opinions on strengthening the infringement of the counterfeit goods destruction on August 13, 2020 by the national crackdown on infringement of intellectual property and produce fake and inferior commodities work leading group office, the central propaganda department, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, ecological environment, culture and tourism, issued by the General Administration of Customs, state administration of market supervision and management of the joint.

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) issued guidelines on deepening the reform of "delegating power, regulation and services" in the field of intellectual property rights and creating a favorable business environment on January 3, 2020.

A notice issued by the Office of the National Intellectual Property Administration on the application of the pilot program of credit-based classification and grading supervision was issued on May 27, 2020.

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) issued guidelines on further strengthening assistance for IPR protection on June 16, 2020.
The State Intellectual Property Office issued a notice on further strengthening the construction of a rapid IPR protection center on August 25, 2020.

The State Intellectual Property Office of the General Office of the Supreme People's Court issued a notice on establishing an online litigation, mediation and docking mechanism for intellectual property disputes on Dec. 29, 2020.

2. Judicial Protection Policy

The Supreme People's Court's Opinions on Comprehensively Strengthening Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights was issued on April 15, 2020.

6. Policies for the protection of geographical indications.
Guidelines for the Determination of Common Names in the Protection of Geographical Indications (Draft) were released to solicit public opinions on March 25, 2020.

The Measures for the Administration of the Use of Special Indications of Geographical Indications (for Trial Implementation) were promulgated and implemented on April 3, 2020.

The State Intellectual Property Office issued a notice on the management of the use of special marks for geographical indications on April 8, 2020.

7. Plant new variety protection policy

The new plant variety review application guidelines were released on Dec 9, 2020.

The Rules for Examination and Approval of Application for New Variety Right of Forest and Grassland Plants will come into effect on January 1, 2020. The new plant variety DUS field examination organization and working rules were released on July 20, 2020 and will come into force on January 1, 2021. We will carry out trials of the system of substantial derived varieties, study and formulate guidelines and technical specifications for the examination of substantial derived varieties of rice, maize and other crops, and promote the original innovation of new plant varieties.

Two national standards on intellectual property protection were issued:

The recommended national standards for the protection and management of intellectual property rights on e-commerce platforms (GB/T 39550-2020) and the series of recommended national standards for the patent navigation guide (GB/T 39551-2020) were released on November 9, 2020 and will come into effect on June 1, 2021.

Third, in the aspect of examination and approval and registration. The number of IPR approvals and registrations has continued to grow, and the quality and efficiency of inspections have improved significantly, according to the white paper. In 2020, China granted 530,000 invention patents, and the number of invention patents per 10,000 population reached 15.8. The number of trademark registrations reached 5.761 million, and 7,553 applications for international registration of Madrid trademarks were submitted by domestic applicants, ranking third in the Madrid Union. The total number of copyright registrations was 5.039 million. The examination period for high-value patents has been reduced to 14 months, and the average examination period for trademark registrations has been reduced to 4 months.

Fourth, in the aspect of cultural construction. According to the white paper, all localities and departments have thoroughly implemented the spirit of Xi Jinping's important speech on propaganda and ideological work in the new era and grasped the new situation and tasks. We will organize important activities such as the Intellectual Property Publicity Week. Press conferences, typical cases and thematic publicity were held to tell China's intellectual property story well from multiple perspectives, and to show the image of a civilized and responsible country.

Fifth, international cooperation. In 2020, China will continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation with international organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as well as intellectual property authorities in various countries and regions, and contribute Chinese solutions to actively deal with the adverse impact of COVID-19 on intellectual property protection, according to the white paper. The Beijing Treaty on Audio-Visual Performance came into force, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-EU Agreement on the Protection and Cooperation of Geographical Indications were signed, all of which helped make the global IPR governance system more just and equitable.

China issued its first white paper on IPR protection in 1994. It has been more than 20 years since 1998, when it was compiled and published on an annual basis. The White Paper objectively reflects the progress and outstanding results of IPR protection work in that year, and has become an authoritative document for all sectors at home and abroad to understand the status of IPR protection in China and convey the Chinese government's firm position on IPR protection.

Source: The white paper "State of Intellectual Property Protection in China in 2020"