Legislation roundup: IP Report, patent examinations, and foreign banks

Trade secret disputes account for a relatively large percentage of competition cases, with the focus of such disputes centering on the confidentiality of the relevant information as well as legal issues relating to the substantiation of the basis of the rights, such as whether confidentiality measures were taken.

Further reading

Supreme People's Court, Annual Report on Intellectual Property Cases (2015) (Abstract)

Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Administrative Cases Involving the Granting and Confirmation of Trademark Rights

China question: How do I tackle IP infringement in China?

State Intellectual Property Office, Measures for the Administration of Prioritized Patent Examinations (Draft for Comments)

国家知识产权局专利优先审查管理办法 (征求意见稿)

These Measures shall apply to the prioritized examination of the following patent applications or cases:

(1) an application for an invention patent at the substantive examination stage;

(2) an application for a utility model or design patent;

(3) the re-examination of an application for an invention, utility model or design patent; and

(4) the invalidation of an invention, utility model or design patent.

Further reading

PRC Patent Law (3rd Revision)

Implementing Rules for the PRC Patent Law (2nd Revision)

Economic Policy

Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, People's Bank of China, the General Administration of Customs and State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Several Opinions on Further Advancing Experimentation in the Comprehensive Pilot Project for a New Open Economic System

商务部、发展改革委、人民银行、海关总署、质检总局关于进一步推进开放型经济新体制综合试点试验的若干意见

The establishment of (sub-)branches in the pilot regions (the 12 pilot cities and regions of Jinan Municipality, Nanchang Municipality, Tangshan Municipality, Zhangzhou Municipality, Dongguan Municipality, Fangchenggang Municipality, Pudong New Area, Liangjiang New Area, Xixian New Area, Dalian Jinpu New Area, Wuhan Metropolitan Area and Suzhou Industrial Park) by foreign-funded banks and the establishment of Sino-foreign equity joint venture banks between private capital and foreign-funded financial institutions will be facilitated.

See the digest for more details.

Further reading

Circular on Matters Relevant to Foreign-funded Banks Engaging in Certain Businesses

PRC Regulations for the Administration of Foreign-invested Banks (2nd Revision)