The fourth amendment to the Chinese Patent Law was passed on October 17, 2020 and will be in effect on 1 June 2021.
China's current patent law came into force in 1985. It was amended three times respectively in 1992, 2000 and 2008, and this is the fourth amendment.
The amendment of the patent law strengthens the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the patentee, which is mainly reflected in the following three points.
(1)Extend the term and scope of design patent protection The patent term for design patents is extended from 10 years to 15 years. Partial designs are protectable according to the amended Patent Law.
(2) Extend patent term for innovative drugs In order to compensate for the time taken for the review and approval of innovative drugs, the patent administration department of the State Council may, at the request of the patentee, extend the duration of patent right for the invention of the innovative drugs that have been approved for marketing in China. The compensation period shall not exceed 5 years, and the total effective duration of patent right shall not exceed 14 years from the marketing of the innovative drugs.
In addition, the Patent Law has added provisions on the early-stage dispute resolution mechanism for drug patent, aiming to solve potential patent disputes as soon as possible before the relevant drugs are put on the market.
(3) Strengthen protection against patent infringement The Patent Law introduces punitive damages under which compensation may be determined within one to five times the amount calculated according to the amended Patent Law. The upper limit of statutory damages is increased to RMB 5,000,000 and the lower limit of statutory damages is increased to RMB 30,000. The Patent Law also improves the provisions on the burden of proof and clarifies the principle of presumption of obstruction of proof. [Relevant Article]
Source: http://www.cipnews.com.cn/Index_NewsContent.aspx?NewsId=125357