CNIPA Issues its Annual Report 2022
Release Date: 5 June 2023
CNIPA has released its Annual Report 2022, which highlights China's accomplishments in intellectual property registration, exploitation, governmental services, and protection. The Report provides the following significant statistics.
First, intellectual property registrations. As of the end of 2022, there were 4.212 million valid invention patents, 42.672 million registered trademarks, 2,495 approved geographical indication products, 7,076 geographical indications registered as collective trademarks and certification trademarks, and 61,000 issued certificates of layout designs of integrated circuits. In 2022, China granted 798,000 invention patents, representing a year-on-year growth of 14.7%. Among these, domestic invention patents accounted for 87.1% with a total of 696,000. It registered 6.177 million trademarks, a year-on-year decrease of a20.2%. Of these, domestic registered trademarks accounted for 97.2% with a total of 6.002 million.
Secondly, China's ability to exploit intellectual property has significantly improved. By the end of 2022, China had fostered 8,240 national intellectual property right template enterprises and supported the establishment of 33 intellectual property right operation platforms/centres. In 2022, the total amount of intellectual property royalties from cross-border licenses reached RMB 387.25 billion (approximately US$ 54.15 billion). From 2012 to 2022, China's pledge financing of patents and trademarks totalled RMB 1.799 trillion (approx. US$ 251.58 billion). In 2022 alone, the pledge financing of patents and trademarks amounted to RMB 485.87 billion (approx. US$ 67.95 billion), marking a year-on-year growth of 30% and a continuous growth of over 40% for three years.
Thirdly, China's governmental services for intellectual property have significantly developed. 99.72% of patent applications and 99.55% of trademark applications are filed electronically. The average review procedure for invention patents has been reduced to 16.5 months, with high-value invention patents reviewed in just 13 months. The average review procedure for trademark registration has been shortened to four months, while general trademark registration takes approximately seven months. The accuracy rate for invention patent reviews reached 93.4%, and the qualification rate for trademark reviews reached 97.6%.
Lastly, China's protection of intellectual property has been strengthened. In 2022, 955,000 irregular patent applications were identified and action was taken against 372,100 malicious trademark registrations. Throughout the year, 58,000 cases of patent infringement were resolved, showing a year-on-year increase of 16.8%. Additionally, 71,000 applications for assistance in protecting rights were handled, and 88,000 mediation cases were accepted.
Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration
https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/module/download/down.jsp?i_ID=185538&colID=3249
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) Issues Provisions on Prohibiting Abuses of Intellectual Property Rights to Exclude or Restrict Competition
Release Date: 29 June 2023
Effective Date: 1 August 2023
The Provisions on Prohibiting Abuses of Intellectual Property Rights to Exclude or Restrict Competition ('Provisions'), revised and published by the SAMR, will come into effect on 1 August 2023.
The Provisions have been revised and improved to take account of the developments that have taken place in antitrust regulatory enforcement in recent years. Building on the original Provisions formulated in 2015, they focus on three aspects: first, they broaden the scope of "abuses of intellectual property rights to exclude or restrict competition" to encompass three primary forms of monopolistic practices - monopoly agreements, abuse of dominant market position, and concentration of undertakings. Secondly, the Provisions enhance the rules for identifying monopolistic practices related to the exercise of intellectual property rights. Drawing on the revised Anti-Monopoly Law in 2022, and considering the unique characteristics of intellectual property and recent regulatory practices, the Provisions provide clarity on the factors and additional restrictive conditions for identifying relevant markets, dominant market positions, relevant monopolistic practices, and the review of undertakings' concentrations. Thirdly, the Provisions strengthen the regulation of typical and special monopolistic practices involving intellectual property. For example, they explicitly prohibit a patent pool entity or its members from engaging in monopolistic practices through exploitation of the patent pool. Additionally, undertakings in a dominant market position are prohibited from leveraging standard essential patents to engage in "patent holdup" and similar activities.
Source: State Administration for Market Regulation
https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/fgs/art/2023/art_e155397fbe5c4c05ad3c1838c1322ad2.html
Game Boosting App for 'Honor of Kings' Held to Constitute Unfair Competition
Date: 6 June 2023
Tencent brought an unfair competition action against Nanhai Beisheng Network Technology Co., Ltd ('Beisheng'), alleging that the operation of a game-boosting App providing game boosting services in relation to Tencent's game, Honor of Kings, constituted unfair competition.
The Court ruled in Tencent's favour. It noted that Honor of Kings has a fair matching mechanism in place, which groups players together for online playing sessions and ensures a positive gaming experience for users. The game also strictly adheres to China's regulations regarding anti-addiction measures for minors. The Defendant, Beisheng, operates a game-boosting App that seeks to gain illegal advantage by undermining Honor of Kings' fair matching and balancing mechanism. It also interferes with the real-name authentication and anti-addiction measures for minors, thereby disrupting the orderly operation of the game market. Furthermore, the Defendant encourages users, including minors, to participate in boosting transactions, where a high-skilled player accesses the account of a lower-skilled player to increase the rank of the account for monetary gain, by offering cash back incentives. These practices constitute unfair competition.
The Court ordered Beisheng to cease its unlawful activity and compensate Tencent for economic loss and reasonable expenses, amounting to a total of RMB 985,000 (approx. US$ 137,931).
Source: IT Home
https://www.ithome.com/0/697/891.htm
Rouse International and Lusheng Law Firm Jointly Release Research Report on Development and Protection of Intellectual Property for China Film-Video Industry (2022)
Date: 11 June 2023
On 11 June, at the Film Market Activity Section of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, Rouse International and its strategic partner, Lusheng Law Firm, jointly held a press conference to release their Research Report on the Development and Protection of Intellectual Property for China Film-Video Industry (2022).
First, the Report provides an overview of the intellectual property landscape in the film-video industry, including the scale of the copyright transaction and brand licensing market, the dual-track intellectual property protection system of administrative protection and judicial protection, as well as recent trends and hotspots in the industry, comprehensively demonstrating the close relationship between the film-video industry and intellectual property rights.
Secondly, the Report analyses some typical administrative and judicial cases in the domestic film-video industry in recent years, focusing on both the need for companies to ensure that they are not infringing the rights of others and the need to ensure that their rights are not being infringed by others.
Thirdly, the Report considers the operation of intellectual property and licensing generally in the film-video industry, on the one hand pointing out the importance of securing adequate protection for all the separate rights involved in film-video, while on the other, the importance of developments in intellectual property financing that have taken place globally. It discusses both the traditional methods of IP exploitation and financing and the additional methods that are now available.
Finally, the Report proposes suggestions on how to face challenges and grasp opportunities related to intellectual property during the whole life cycle of film-video programs, from idea submission and financing to production, promotion and distribution, as well as the later value realisation stage, helping film-video practitioners to strengthen their awareness of intellectual property protection and improve their utilisation of intellectual property.
At the press conference, two other topics were the subject of in-depth discussion. One, the influence of AI on film production and intellectual property, and the application and potential risks of AI technologies in various stages of film production, such as face restoration and scriptwriting. The other, development of the film licensing market in China.
Source: Rouse Intellectual Property Consulting
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