By Ms. Haiyu Li, Lawyer and Partner of Chofn IP
1. CNIPA upgraded among state administrative organs
On March 7, 2023, the representative of The State Council made an explanation on the State Council's institutional reform plan at the plenary session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing. According to the plan, China will upgrade IPR creation, application, protection, management and service. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), currently administered by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), will be put independent from the SAMR and set as a ministry-level organ directly under The State Council. The responsibility of law enforcement in trademark and patent will continue to be assumed by the comprehensive law enforcement team of the Administrations for Market Regulation (AMRs), and the corresponding law enforcement will receive professional guidance from the CNIPA.
We need to wait and see how the AMRs coordinate with the CNIPA in terms of specialized enforcement, though the independent CNIPA might become more efficient and attract more attention.
2. China Trademark Festival (CTF) scheduled on June 16-19, 2023
On March 7, 2023, the China Trademark Association (CTA) officially announced that the 13th China Trademark Festival (CTF) will be held in Dongguan, a city in Guangdong province, near Shenzhen and Hong Kong, on June 16-19, 2023. After the long delay caused by the covid, China is now fully open again.
CTF is one of the most influential international trademark grand meetings in the trademark field. In the recent CTF meetings, an average of more than 3,000 professionals participated in the events. The CNIPA officials, representatives of foreign governments, in-house counsels of renowned companies and IP experts from China as well as other countries will gather together and discuss series of cutting-edge topics.
We Chofn IP welcome colleagues from all over the world to join us there this coming summer!
3. Beijing IP Court to update the guidelines on the notarization and legalization in foreign-related cases
On February 28, 2023, Beijing IP Court (BIPC) and Beijing Lawyers Association (BLA) held a seminar on formulating and issuing the updated guidelines on the notarization and legalization in foreign-related cases. The reform aims to make the filing of foreign-related cases smoother and more effective, on the basis of ensuring the two principles of judicial sovereignty and litigant right.
Chofn Lawyer Ms. Lisha Liu, Deputy Secretary-General of BLA, attended the seminar and provided our opinions on the draft guidelines. Chofn lawyer Shumin He joined Ms. Lisha Liu in the work team for guidelines update and undertook a part of the draft task.
The updated and optimized guidelines are expected to be officially released on April 26, 2023, the World IP Day.
