The amended Implementation Regulations of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China is added with a new system of restoration, and addition or correction of the claim to right of priority, which provides applicants with more effective remedies regarding the priority period and handling of formalities, and connects with the relevant rules for international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The Guidelines aim at guiding innovative entities to understand and utilize the system of restoration, and addition or correction of the claim to right of priority, helping applicants improve the quality of procedures related to patent applications and promoting the high-quality development of the patent industry.

Read more: Guidelines on Restoration, Addition or Rectification of Claim to Right of Priority

(Source: CNIPA website)

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released an advance report of the Global Innovation Index (GII) Report 2024 on August 27 at the IP Week 2024 in Singapore. The report shows that China ranks first in the world for the second consecutive year in terms of the number of global top 100 science, technology and innovation clusters.

China has 26 of the world's top 100 technology and innovation clusters, up from 24 last year, according to the report. The U.S. follows with 20, Germany has eight, and India and South Korea each have four.

Among the top 10 technology and innovation clusters, seven are found in Asia and three in the US. Tokyo-Yokohama (Japan) ranks first, followed by Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou (China). Beijing (China) moved up to the third position. In the sixth place, San Jose-San Francisco, California is the leading US cluster. Other middle-income economy clusters, such as Cairo (Egypt), Chennai (India) and Istanbul (Türkiye) also experienced significant growth.

(Source: Xinhua News)

Since the inception of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has continued to enhance IP cooperation with BRI countries. As of now, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has signed IP cooperation agreements with 57 BRI countries and has established Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) cooperation with 18 IP administrations in BRI countries. Additionally, China has become an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications in 10 BRI countries.

According to the statistics, from 2013 to 2023, the number of cumulative patent applications and authorizations of Chinese enterprises in BRI countries and related organizations had reached 70,000 and 35,000, respectively, with an average annual growth rate of more than 20%. The number of cumulative patent applications and authorizations of BRI countries in China had reached 285,000 and 182,000, with an average annual growth rate of 5.6% and 8.0% respectively. By the end of 2023, the number of valid invention patents owned by enterprises of BRI countries in China had reached 153,000.

In recent years, China has continued to carry out international cooperation represented by BRI IP cooperation and has continuously improved the global IP partnership network. China has established stable cooperation relationships with more than 80 countries and regions globally. Over 200 IP cooperation agreements have been signed, shaping a new international IP cooperation landscape of "multilateral, neighboring, plurilateral, and bilateral" coordinated progress.

The Third Belt and Road High-Level Conference on IP will be held from September 11 to 13, 2024. This conference will promote of several practical cooperation projects in the four areas of patents, trademarks, geographical indications, and copyright, as well as promote quality upgrading and deepening the expansion of BRI IP cooperation.

Original headline: Promoting Patent Technology Exchanges with BRI Countries and Deepening BRI IP Cooperation

(Source: excerpted from Xinhua News)

Recently, the Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court issued a judgment of first instance in the case of infringement of trademark right dispute between SEMK PRODUCTS LIMITED and others (hereinafter referred to as "Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭", represented by Unitalen) and certain companies in Wenzhou. The court determined that the No. 8814480 trademark "", and the No. 8814488 trademark "" owned by Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭 had constituted the famous trademarks before August 7, 2019 and September 17, 2019, respectively. Use of "G.DUCK", "", "G.DUCKKIDS", "", and other marks by the certain company in Wenzhou on its goods, such as thermal cups and bowls, had constituted trademark infringement. The company was ordered to stop the infringement, compensate for 4.3 million yuan, and publish a statement in the Wenzhou Daily to eliminate the effects.

Case brief

The history of Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭can be traced back to 2001. The founder, Mr. Hui Ha Lam, created the signature character B.Duck and commenced the retail business for B.Duck featured consumer merchandise in 2005. In 2020, B.Duck became the No. 1 proprietary IP brand (in terms of revenue) in China. B.Duck has also won the LIMA Asian Licensing Award, Jade Monkey Award and other influential industry awards, and has been included in the Guangdong Key Trademark Protection List, enjoying a high reputation.

The defendant, the certain company in Wenzhou, used the marks "", "", "", "", and "" on "canteens, kettles, cups, thermal food jars, thermal bowls" and other goods, and publicized, promoted and sold them through offline stores, e-commerce platforms, self-media platforms and other ways. In response to the defendant's act of trademark infringement, Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭 filed a lawsuit with the Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court in March 2023.

Judgement viewpoint

I. The plaintiff's trademarks "" and "" have constituted well-known trademarks prior to the date of the application for registration of the sued marks.

II. The use of the marks such as "" and "" by the defendant on thermal cups, bowls and other goods is likely to lead to confusion and misrecognition of the relevant public, and also lead to trademark dilution, which infringes the plaintiff's exclusive right to use the famous trademarks.

III. The punitive legal compensation is applicable to determine the amount of damages.

Case significance

Through this case, Unitalen assisted Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭 in realizing the first judicial determination of the famous trademarks "" and "". Meanwhile, this case fully demonstrates how to utilize IP means to protect domestic original IP actively and provides a good reference example for other flourishing Chinese IP brands to defend their rights.

Case brief

Power Dekor Group is the prior right holder of the trademark and name "圣象" (Shengxiang), and is entitled to the exclusive right to use the series of trademarks "" on the goods of "Floor Boards" etc. in Class 19. After long-term extensive use and publicity activities, the plaintiff's brand "圣象" has won very high popularity and reputation in China, has been awarded the "No. 1 in Sales of Similar Products in the National Market" for 18 consecutive years, and has been evaluated as the "China's 500 Most Valuable Brands" for multiple times. The brand value of "圣象" has continued to grow from 34.568 billion yuan in 2017 to 85.856 billion yuan in 2023.

The six defendants of a certain cuisine & sanitary company, a certain electrical appliance company, and a certain network company in Foshan, as well as Liang, Tan, and Li (the six defendants for short), through their respective official websites, JD Flagship Stores and specialty stores in various provinces and cities, used the word of "圣象智家", the icon "" or "" and other sued infringing marks in the goods of gas stoves and water heaters manufactured and sold thereby. Meanwhile, the six defendants, without permission, used the videos, IP images, publicity terms, and the like that were first used by the plaintiff, Power Dekor Group, as their promotional and publicity materials. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the six defendants for trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Court judgment

Changde Intermediate People's Court of Hunan Province determined in the first instance that the six defendants' act of using the marks "圣象" and "" etc. in the sales and publicity of gas stoves and water heaters infringed the exclusive right owned by Power Dekor Group to use the famous trademark "圣象", and the six defendants were ordered to compensate for economic losses of 2 million yuan and other reasonable expenses.

Typical significance

This case is typical for trademark infringement committed by free riding a famous trademark, and the way of infringement is diversified. The first instance judgment in this case safeguarded the rights and interests of the company's famous trademark and, to a certain extent, deterred other potential infringers through the high compensation, which was conducive to curbing the "free-riding" and other behaviors.