The draft amendment to the Patent Law of China was approved at a State Council executive meeting this month, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, and will be submitted to the top legislature - the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress - to become law.
The draft aims to strengthen the crackdown on intellectual property rights (IPR) infringe-ment by substantially raising compensation for victims, and fines for violators, clarifying the responsibilities for online service providers.
In the meantime, inventors and designers will receive a reasonable share of profits brought by patents they made when serving employers.
For example, the draft raises the fine range for violators from a minimum of 100,000 yuan ($14,490) to 5 million yuan when the loss to patent holders, and the benefits gained by violators, cannot be determined. The current fines range from 10,000 yuan to 1 million yuan.
In many cases of IPR infringement in China, the average compensation is usually around several hundred thousand yuan, and it was rare to see 1 million yuan awarded in compensation, according to figures by the Supreme People's Court.
This is the fourth amendment to China's patent law since 1984, with the latest revision in 2008. In March, Shen Changyu, head of the National IP Administration (CNIPA), said the amendment would be accelerated this year.
http://english.cnipa.gov.cn/news/iprspecial/1134491.htm
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