Patents Designs
Chinese Patent Law Update
December 02, 2020
Patent law changes in China have been passed which will enter into force on 1 June 2021.
New changes to patent law in China are due to enter into force on 1 June 2020. There have been numerous changes, including:
• Patent term extensions - China plans to introduce patent term extensions to compensate for delays by the patent office during examination of a patent application, and delays due to the regulatory approval period for pharmaceutical patents.
• A grace period of 6 months for novelty will be allowed if the first disclosure is for the purpose of public interest due to an emergency or extraordinary situation.
• The term for design patents is to be extended from 10 years to 15 years.
• Open license system – a new system will be introduced to allow patentees to provide an open license with associated license fees.
• The introduction of punitive damages of up to five times original damages for malicious or intentional infringement, and the cap for statutory damages will be increased from RMB one million to RMB five million for successful patent infringement cases.