Are resident representative offices of foreign patent agencies in China allowed to engage in Chinese patent affairs such as acting for patent applications or invalidating patent rights?
According to the Administrative Measures for the Establishment of Resident Representative Offices in China by Foreign Patent Agencies (hereinafter referred to as “the Measures”) issued by CNIPA, the resident representative offices of foreign patent agencies are not allowed to engage in Chinese patent matters such as patent applications and patent invalidation proceedings, or other Chinese legal matters. The resident representative office may engage in the following activities per Article 14 of the Measures:
- Providing the parties with patent affairs consultation in the country or region where the foreign patent agency has been approved to engage in patent agency business
- Accepting the entrustment of the parties or the Chinese patent agency to handle patent affairs in the country or region where the foreign patent agency has been approved to engage in patent agency business
- Accepting the entrustment of the parties or Chinese patent agencies to provide professional consulting services for Chinese enterprises’ overseas investment, overseas early warning, overseas rights protection and other patent-related matters
- Representing foreign parties to entrust Chinese patent agencies to handle Chinese patent affairs.
