China IP update

By Phil Taylor.

Over the last year, China has taken impressive steps towards unifying its approach to IP. In June 2008, the National IP Strategy was announced; since then, the revised PRC Patent Law has been passed and the Supreme People's Court has issued judicial interpretations on the Strategy and issues related to trials of civil disputes (Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Law on Trials of Civil Disputes Involving the Protection of Well-known Trademarks (关于审理涉及驰名商标保护的民事纠纷案件应用法律若干问题的解释) and Opinion on Several Issues Concerning the Serving of the General Public Interest When Handling Intellectual Property Trials in View of the Current Financial Situation) (关于当前经济形势下知识产权审判服务大局若干问题的意见). Revisions to the PRC Trademark Law (中华人民共和国商标法) are also thought to be imminent.

Several cases have hit the IP headlines, including the World Trade Organisation's panel report on complaints brought by the US alleging barriers to trade in copyrighted material and deficiencies in China's enforcement of criminal sanctions. French company Schneider also paid out a record sum to settle a case with Chint Group involving a battle over a utility model patent.

In the 2009 edition of Chinalaw Profiles, China Law & Practice for the first time published lists of the top-tier IP firms in nine cities across mainland China, as well as the best international firms. The lists are reproduced above, and show that the practice of intellectual property law has also advanced significantly in recent times. It is not only Beijing and Shanghai which are now served by high-quality IP lawyers.