ChinaChina Patent OfficeCNIPAPatent LawUpdates and Changes
10 November 2023

Announcement: Implementation Regulations (Rules) of the Chinese Patent Law have been Approved

by
Ms. Yolanda Wang
Ms. Jennifer Che

On November 3rd, 2023, the Premier of the State Council, Li Qiang, chaired a regular meeting where the "Implementation Regulations of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised Draft)" was reviewed and approved. This is great news, as we have been waiting quite some time for these Regulations (Rules) to be approved (see our previous article summarizing the draft Implementation Rules). Considering the 4th Amendment of the new Chinese Patent Law was passed in October 2020, we have certainly been waiting a long time for more details about how this law will be implemented.

This document is not publicly available yet. However, the announcement provides a summary of key highlights:

Key Highlights:

  • China will continue to enhance protection of IP rights, with a goal of further refining the patent application and examination systems to improve China’s standards in patent innovation, application, protection, management, and related services.
  • China will continue efforts to strengthen alignment with relevant international treaties.
  • The Regulations affirm that the patent law plays a pivotal role in promoting technological innovation and the development of new industries and markets.
  • China will initiate multiple forms of public awareness campaigns on IP Rights to foster a legal environment that supports and safeguards innovation.

These high level statements reflect China’s overarching goals for strengthening both IP protection as well as public awareness of IP protection in China. We look forward to seeing the details of the Regulations.

As always, we keep an eye out for updates such as these and will inform you as soon as more details come out. 

Other Articles

CHINA: New Patent Examination Guidelines Now Available for Public Comment

4 August 2021
Two months after the new Chinese Patent law came into effect, the CNIPA has released a new set of Patent Examination Guidelines (proposed version) for public comments on Aug 3, 2021. Here are the explanation of the amendments (Chinese only). Here is the full set of proposed amendments (Chinese only). Briefly, the new amendment focuses […]

Compositions Limited by Use: A Cautionary Tale

26 October 2022
Section 4.2.3, Part II Chapter 10 of the CNIPA’s Examination Guidelines (“Guidelines”) stipulates that if the specification only discloses one property or use of a composition, the composition claim shall be drafted as a “composition limited by the function or the use”. Furthermore, it specifically states that “most pharmaceutical claims shall be drafted as claims […]

RNAi Patent Success in China: Overcoming “Comprising” Claim Challenges

10 March 2025
An Update on Sufficiency and Inventiveness of RNAi Patents in China RNAi is a fast-developing technology that has gained traction in the pharmaceutical industry as a promising therapeutic agent. It is important to follow closely RNAi patent proceedings to learn how different examination boards and courts understand and handle these new technologies. The first-ever invalidation […]

China Patent Office (CNIPA) Releases More Details About Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) in the Draft Examination Guidelines

19 October 2021
The new 4th Amendment of the Chinese Patent Law came into effect on June 1, 2021. Right before that date, the Chinese Patent Office (“CNIPA”) released some “Interim Measures” to give us a taste of what was to come, though they have yet to released the actual Implementation Rules. Two months later, CNIPA finally released […]

Our Past Events

Top crossarrow-right