China’s Intellectual Property Progress in 2022: Insights from State Council Press Conference

On January 16th, 2023, the Information Office of the State Council of China held a press conference where CNIPA officials introduced the work related to intellectual property conducted in 2022 and answered questions from reporters. The following are four key points discussed at the press conference:

   1) Main data on patents and trademarks: 798,000 invention patents, 2,804,000 utility model patents, and 721,000 design patents were granted throughout the year. Furthermore, 74,000 PCT international patent applications were accepted by CNIPA, and 63,000 patent reexamination and 7,900 invalidation cases were closed. Additionally, 1,286 applications for international registration of designs were submitted by Chinese applicants through the Hague Agreement. In terms of trademarks, 6,177,000 million cases were registered throughout the year, and 169,000 trademark oppositions were reviewed. What is more, 412,000 trials of various trademark reviews and adjudications were completed. Finally, 5,827 international registration applications from domestic applicants were received through the Madrid System.

In 2022, the number of foreign intellectual property rights in China has been steadily increasing. By the end of 2022, the number of valid foreign invention patents in China had reached 861,000, showing a 4.5% year-on-year increase, and involved 58,000 foreign companies, which is an increase of 2,000 from the previous year. Additionally, 2,030,000 million foreign trademarks were registered in China, showing a 5.9% year-on-year increase

   2) Examination cycle of patents and trademarks: The target of reducing the time for examination cycle of patents and trademarks was successfully reached in 2022. The examination cycle of high-value invention patents was reduced to 13 months, ahead of schedule by one year. The average examination cycle of invention patents was reduced to 16.5 months, ahead of schedule by 3 months, and the average examination cycle of trademark registration was reduced to less than 4 months, ahead of schedule by 2 years.

   (3) Continuous improvement of examination policy: CNIPA officially introduced the examination for obvious inventiveness to improve the quality of authorization when it comes to utility model applications.

   (4) New Management System of Patent Affairs: CNIPA officially launched a new Management System of Patent Affairs on January 11th, 2023.

(Source: lexology.com)

More information can be found here:

http://www.scio.gov.cn/xwfbh/xwbfbh/wqfbh/49421/49470/index.htm

Visit HPA-China’s Information Hub, CLICK HERE