Promulgation date: 7 January 2022
Effective date: 7 January 2022
These administrative rules, which came into effect on 7 January 2022, set out the procedure governing the establishment and operation of foreign patent agency permanent representative offices in China. They include provisions that safeguard the rights and interests of the offices and their representatives; provisions dealing with legal liability for contraventions of the law; provisions dealing with the administration of the offices by the CNIPA and the IPR authorities at provincial level, as well as provisions that aim to optimize the business environment and ensure the development of a high-quality patency agency industry.
According to the Measures, a foreign patent agency seeking to establish a permanent representative office in China must satisfy the following criteria:
(1) the agency must be legally established abroad;
(2) it must have been in the patent agency business for more than five years, and not have breached any relevant law or regulation;
(3) it must have more than 10 patent attorneys practicing in its own country; and
(4) the chief representative of the resident office must have full capacity for civil conduct and a patent agent qualification. He must have practiced as a patent agent for no less than two years, and not breached any relevant law or regulation, or any criminal law.
Source: CNIPA
Link: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2022/1/11/art_527_172712.html?xxgkhide=1
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