Supreme People's Court, Annual Report on Intellectual Property Cases (2010) (Abstract)

最高人民法院知识产权案件年度报告 (2010) (摘要)

June 01, 2011 | BY

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Design can still be protected under Anti-unfair Competition Law after the patent expires.

Clp Reference: 5100/11.04.13 Promulgated: 2011-04-13

Issued: April 13 2011

Main contents: The 2010 Report selected 43 issues with broad guiding significance from 36 cases including:

(1) When a different understanding of the contents of a claim exists, interpretation should be effected based on the description and drawings

(2) Determination of the equivalence of technical features in a patent infringement dispute

(3) Issue of whether registration of a work constitutes publication for the purposes of copyright

(4) Consideration of factors such as the subjective intent of the alleged infringer, historical use and current status of the relevant mark, etc. in determining whether trademarks are similar

(5) Determination of the propriety of the act of planning the establishment of a new company by an employee while employed by the employer where such company is in competition with the employer

(6) Can the design of a good for which a design patent was obtained be accorded protection under the Anti-unfair Competition Law once the patent expires?

(7) The validity of franchise contracts executed by franchisers that fail to satisfy the “two stores, one year” condition

(8) The Supreme People's Court, Provisions on Several Issues Concerning Jurisdiction Over Foreign-related Civil and Commercial Actions do not apply in foreign-related intellectual property cases

(9) Allocation of the burden of proof in a dispute over infringement of a manufacturing process patent for a new product and determination of “new product”

Related legislation: PRC Trademark Law (2nd Revision), Oct 27 2001, CLP 2001 No.10 p.75; PRC Patent Law (2nd Revision), Aug 25 2000, CLP 2000 No.8 p.7; PRC Patent Law (3rd Revision), Dec 27 2008, CLP 2009 No.1 p.60; PRC Anti-unfair Competition Law, Sep 2 1993, CLP 1993 No.9 p.31; Provisions on Several Issues Concerning Jurisdiction Over Foreign-related Civil and Commercial Actions, Feb 25 2002, CLP No.4 p.7; Regulations for the Administration of Commercial Franchising; Feb 6 2007, CLP 2007 No.2 p.2; and Several Provisions on the Evidentiary Rules in Civil Actions

clp reference:5100/11.04.13prc reference:法办 [2011] 81号promulgated:2011-04-13

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