Recently, the Chinese Patent Reexamination Board (PRB) published a written decision where patentee Chen He’s Electric Unicycle patent (CN102275621B) was invalidated based, partly, on a failure to establish sufficient domestic priority. The case is significant because of: a) its consideration of whether the patent can be invalidated due to not applying for a foreign filing license (FFL) and b) its two-part test for establishing domestic priority. Requirements for a foreign filing license The requirements for…

Previously, under the CNNIC ccTLD Dispute Resolution Policy (CNDRP) which governs the .CN (and .中国) domain in China, no complaints under CNDRP could be filed against a .CN domain which had been registered for more than 2 years. This time bar led to debates as to whether it imposes an unreasonable time limit on the fair and equitable enforcement of intellectual property rights.  For further background to this time-bar under CNDRP, please refer to our…

During this year’s 2019 INTA Annual Meeting, our Greater China IP team discussed the following key issues around China’s evolving IP landscape. What’s in store for brand owners in China? Partner, Helen Xia discussed recent updates on strategies to curb trademark hijacking and factors leading up to this phenomenon. In recent years, China has had a high volume of trademark fillings due to the first-to-file principle, the lack of an intent-to-use requirement, and the low…

On 23 April 2019, both China’s Trademark Law (“TML“) and its Anti-Unfair Competition Law (“AUCL“) were amended.  The amendments to the TML are aimed at curbing bad faith trademarks and increasing damages for infringement, while the changes to the AUCL are aimed at improving the protection for trade secrets. The changes to the TML will enter into force on 1 November 2019, while the changes to the AUCL are effective immediately, as from 23 April…