Publications

• Huawei v. Conversant: Setting the FRAND Rates for SEPs in Chinese Market

  Nanjing Intermediate Court issues a decision setting FRAND rates in China that may play a role in disputes that are pending in other jurisdictions as a global FRAND royalty rate is sought.
  

  2019-12-26

• Chinese Supreme Court Aims for Higher Efficiency and Greater Predictability in Patent Disputes
  

  In two high-profile cases, the Supreme Court consolidated the infringement and validity proceedings.
  

  2019-12-23

• CNIPA's Draft Rules May Make It Easier to Obtain Business Method Patents

  The patentability of a Business Method feature may now be considered in totality with a Technical feature, thereby increasing its chances of securing a patent.
  

  2019-12-20

• Trademark Use + Unauthorized Use  →  Infringement

  Nominative Fair Use cannot be a total defense against claims of trademark infringement or unfair competition for unauthorized use when reselling genuine products.
  

  2019-12-16

• China Deleted Restrictions on Technology Transfer Widely Criticized by Foreigners

  The State Council of China (the cabinet) just announced a decision on March 18 to delete a number of regulatory provisions on inbound technology transfer which have been widely criticized by foreigners as unfair treatment against them. 

  2019-03-19

• Chinese Supreme Court Restricts Patent Owner's Capability to Amend Markush Claim in Invalidation

  The Supreme People's Court of The People's Republic of China ("SPC") recently issued its long-awaited retrial judgment in a patent validity action, holding that a Markush claim should be considered a single technical solution, instead of multiple solutions for each of the possible compounds covered, overruling the lower judgment by Beijing Higher People's Court ("BHPC"). 

  2018-05-10

• Beijing Higher Court holds a Markush claim May Include Multiple Solutions

  Beijing Higher People's Court in a recent judgment holds that a Markush claim may include multiples technical solutions and thus may claim partial priority, i.e. some of the technical solutions may claim a priority while other solutions cannot.

  2018-05-10

• First Infringement Judgment Casts Doubt on Value of GUI Design Patents

  The Beijing Intellectual Property Court recently issued its judgment in the first-in-China infringement suit involving a design patent on GUI, Qihu v. Jiangmin. 

  2018-05-24

• New Case Report in China: Amendment of Markush Claims in Invalidation Proceedings

  A Markush Claim is a claim drafting method commonly used in chemical and pharmaceutical patents. 

  2018-06-12

• A Generic Term Incorporated Could Cause the Entire Trademark Invalidated

  By Grace Guo and Spring Zhu  Late last year, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) upheld an opposition decision by the China Trademark Office (CTMO) disapproving the registration of trademark No. 14876938 for  (授粉精华液Lantian及图, the Subject Mark) on the goods "Manure for Agriculture; Fertilizer, etc." in Class 1. Both the TRAB and CTMO held that the Chinese characters "授粉精华液" , with their co

  2018-05-24

• Taobao Sues Seller of Counterfeits for Breach of Contract

  July this year, Shanghai Fengxian District People 's Court (the Court) ruled in the very first case of an e-commerce platform suing its online seller in China, i.e. Taobao vs. YAO.

  2018-05-24

• TRAB Recognizes Use of Trademarks in China Based on Mass Media Reports

  By Nancy Zhang In February 2017, the China Trademark Review & Adjudication Board (TRAB) supported the trademark invalidation action raised by a US company and decided the registration of the trademark "DROPCAM & Chinese characters" to be invalid. 

  2018-05-25

• OEM is Found Infringing When the Trademark Used is NOT the Same

  for pdf, please click here. The Shanghai Intellectual Property Court ("Shanghai IP Court") recently issued a judgment finding that an OEM manufacturer infringed upon domestic trademark registrations when manufacturing identical products for a foreign trademark owner for pure exporting purposes. The foreign trademark owner was also found to be infringing with joint liability.

  2018-05-25