China

Echo Xu of Beijing Kangrui Law Firm examines a number of cases which consider whether original equipment manufacturers are “using” a trademark when they affix it to a product which will be exported from China

Ran Wang and Guanyang Yao of Liu Shen & Associates analyse the different evidence rules relating to IP litigation, including evidence deadlines, evidence required for damages and evidence for reasonable costs

Paula Pei of Panawell discusses the need to register a Chinese language mark, the different ways to choose a Chinese language mark and the challenges businesses may face when registering such marks

Attempting to establish a trademark infringement test, on December 18 2019, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released draft Criteria for Determining Trademark Infringement (Consultation Draft), inviting public comments.

In the US-China Phase One trade deal signed on January 15 2020, notable agreements on patents mostly relate to pharmaceutical sectors – Articles 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12. It is possible that these articles may also have implications for other sectors, which remains to be seen in the subsequent implementation. In addition, the provisions on judicial enforcement and procedures should benefit all patent owners. More technical issues such as indirect infringement or changes to the judicial review of invalidation decisions are not addressed. This update provides a brief overview of these key changes.

On December 25 2019, the Supreme Court promulgated amendments of Several Provisions on Civil Evidence Rules (amendments). The amendments, which will come into effect on May 1 2020, have attracted lots of attention from IP practitioners. The rules are expected to improve the accuracy and standardisation of evidence production procedures and balance the burden of proof between litigants. Below are some highlights of the amendments.