2021 is the first year of the "14th Five Year Plan". Although we need to face the impact of the COVID-19, on the basis of multiple factors such as policy measures, market environment, and enterprise demand, China's patent industry has still delivered a brilliant report card. On the occasion of the upcoming World Intellectual Property Day and the official launch of the National Intellectual Property Publicity Week, I have summarized a number of important events that I believe occurred in the patent field in China in 2021 based on the timeline for the benefit of readers.

January Revision of the "Patent Examination Guide" related to biomedicine

On January 15, 2021, the newly revised "Guidelines for Patent Examination" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") went into effect. This revision relates to Chapter 10 of Part II of the Guidelines, which mainly clarifies and improves the examination standards for supplementary experimental data, for the novelty of compounds, and for the creativity of compounds and biological fields. It has a direct impact and guiding significance on the exploration and defense of patent layout by applicants and patentees in the biomedical field. The specific content includes:

（1） Modifications related to supplementary submission of experimental data (Part II, Chapter X, Section 3.5)

（2） Modifications to other limitations of the composition claims (Part II, Chapter X, Section 4.2.3)

（3） Modifications to the novelty of compounds (Part II, Chapter X, Section 5.1)

（4） Modifications to the Creativity of Compounds (Part II, Chapter X, Section 6.1)

（5） Amendment to the Depository Unit of Biological Materials (Part II, Chapter X, Section 9.2.1 (4))

（6） Amendments to the Writing of Monoclonal Antibody Claims (Part II, Chapter 10, Section 9.3.1.7)

（7） Modifications to the inventiveness of inventions in the field of biotechnology (Chapter X, Section 9.4.2, Part II).

In February, the patent reward challenge model first entered China

On February 3, 2021, Jiwei.com reported that on February 3, the global professional patent challenger Unified patents released the first invalid reward for Chinese patents. In the following days, the company continued to issue three invalid awards for Chinese patents. The four awarded patents are all video related technology patents. This is the first time that this company, known as the "nemesis" of NPE, has extended its bounty plan to China, and it is also the first time that the patent reward challenge model has entered China. The patents involved include Chinese patents CN 103081504, CN102939755, CN101421935, and CN103299632. The above four patents are not only related to video technology, but also core patents in related fields. Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce global intellectual property competition, especially the increasing frequency of international NPE litigation actions against Chinese enterprises, Unified offers rewards to challenge Chinese patents, which is the result of the development of the domestic intellectual property market. It is also a manifestation of China's status as one of the main arbitration sites for global intellectual property litigation.

In March, the Supreme Court issued an explanation of punitive damages for intellectual property infringement cases

On March 3, 2021, the Supreme People's Court issued the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of Punitive Damages to Civil Cases of Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights" (hereinafter referred to as the "Interpretation"). The Interpretation specifies the scope of application of punitive damages in intellectual property civil cases, the determination of intent and seriousness of the circumstances, and the determination of calculation bases and multiples. The purpose of the Interpretation is to guide courts at all levels to accurately apply punitive damages and punish serious violations of intellectual property rights by clarifying the criteria for adjudication. The release of the Interpretation is an important measure to implement the punitive damages system, demonstrating the determination of the people's court to comprehensively strengthen the judicial protection of intellectual property rights, and is of great significance for further optimizing the legal environment for scientific and technological innovation.

In March, the State Intellectual Property Office further regulated irregular patent applications

On March 11, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration issued the Announcement on the Measures for Regulating Patent Applications (No. 411) to further regulate patent applications. There are eight articles in the "Measures", which respectively stipulate the formulation basis, manifestations of abnormal patent application, examination procedures, remedies, relevant handling measures, and implementation dates. According to this method, a total of four batches of 815000 abnormal patent applications were screened in the four quarters of 2021. And on January 24, 2022, the China National Intellectual Property Administration issued the Notice on Continuing to Strictly Standardize Patent Application Behavior, focusing on continuously improving the working mechanism, establishing and improving the long-term mechanism, from continuously improving the information communication mechanism, strengthening the precise management of patent application behavior, improving the active verification and reporting mechanism, strengthening the hierarchical and classified governance, strengthening the governance of key violations, strengthening the coordinated governance of departments We will strengthen credit supervision in the field of patent applications and strengthen agency behavior supervision in eight areas, continue to crack down on abnormal patent application behavior, and standardize the order of patent applications. The Notice proposes to strengthen the governance of key violations, and clarify key abnormal patent applications suspected of violating laws and regulations, such as abnormally large amounts of applications, fraudulent use of other people's information applications, repeated applications for abnormal patents, reselling abnormal patent applications, and patent applications by "three non" shell companies without research and development investment, research and development personnel, and production and operation. Local intellectual property management departments are required to coordinate with market supervision, public security, credit supervision, and other departments to strictly handle key irregular patent applications suspected of violating laws and regulations in accordance with the law.

In April, the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court publicly adjudicated a case involving the ownership dispute of a service invention

On April 22, 2021, the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court publicly announced the patent ownership dispute between the appellant Zhengzhou Xincai Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Xincai Company) and the respondent Song Junli. This case has guiding significance for the correct application of the duty invention system of the Patent Law and for balancing the interest relationship between the inventor and the entity. The duty invention system is a core system that stimulates innovation enthusiasm, promotes achievement transformation, and balances the interest relationship between inventors and units. From the perspective of the inventor's freedom of invention, the Supreme People's Court clarified that the work tasks other than the inventor's job responsibilities in service inventions should be explicitly assigned by the unit, and the independent innovation of the inventor cannot naturally be regarded as fulfilling the unit's job tasks; From the perspective of unit equity boundaries, it is clear that material and technical conditions should play a role in the research and development process and have a substantive impact on the formation of the substantive characteristics of the invention. This case not only clarifies the trial thinking of disputes over the ownership of service inventions from the perspective of concepts, but also from the perspective of specific adjudication standards, taking into account the balance of interests between the unit and the inventor, which is of great significance for rationally determining the ownership of inventions and creations and encouraging innovation.

Introduction of the technical investigator system in intellectual property administrative law enforcement cases in May

On May 7, 2021, the Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration issued the Notice on Several Provisions on the Participation of Technical Investigators in the Administrative Adjudication of Patent and Integrated Circuit Layout Design Infringement Disputes (Provisional) (Guo Zhi Ban Fa Bao Zi [2021] No. 17), which determined the requirements for introducing the system of technical investigators in the handling of intellectual property administrative law enforcement cases. Since then, intellectual property administrative law enforcement Technical investigators have been systematically introduced into judicial proceedings, enabling professional technical coverage and support for patent related cases that require technical support.

June New Patent Law goes into effect

On June 1, 2021, the "Patent Law of the People's Republic of China", which was amended by a vote of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress at its 22nd meeting on October 17, 2020, entered into force.

In July, the Measures for the Implementation of Multiple Drug Patent Links were promulgated and implemented

On July 4, 2021, the State Food and Drug Administration and the China National Intellectual Property Administration jointly issued the Announcement of the Implementation Measures for the Early Resolution Mechanism of Drug Patent Disputes (Trial) (No. 89 in 2021), which will come into force as of the date of promulgation.
On July 5, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration announced the Administrative Adjudication Measures for the Early Resolution Mechanism of Drug Patent Disputes, which will come into force as of the date of promulgation. According to the relevant provisions of the Measures for the Implementation of the Early Resolution Mechanism for Drug Patent Disputes (Trial), the patentee or interested party shall submit the administrative ruling to the national drug review institution within 10 working days after receiving it. Article 19 of the Measures for Adjudication stipulates that if the party concerned is not satisfied with the administrative adjudication of the drug patent dispute made by the China National Intellectual Property Administration, it may bring a lawsuit to the people's court according to law. According to Article 46 of the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, administrative litigation can be initiated within 6 months from the date of service of the administrative ruling.

On July 5, 2021, the Supreme People's Court issued the "Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Civil Cases of Drug Related Patent Disputes for Registration". This judicial interpretation shall enter into force on the same day. The promulgation of this judicial interpretation is an important measure taken by the Supreme People's Court to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, serve the innovative development of China's pharmaceutical industry, and actively respond to social concerns. The early resolution mechanism for pharmaceutical patent disputes is a new legal system added to the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, amended in 2020. The promulgation and implementation of judicial interpretations plays an important role in ensuring the correct implementation of the Patent Law, improving the connection between litigation procedures, drug review and approval procedures, and administrative adjudication procedures, and promoting the unification of intellectual property administrative law enforcement standards and judicial adjudication standards.

In September, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Outline (2021-2035)

In September 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Outline for Building a Strong Intellectual Property Country (2021-2035)", and issued a notice requiring all regions and departments to conscientiously implement it based on actual conditions. According to the Outline (2021-2035), the development goals are: By 2025, the construction of an intellectual property power will achieve significant results, intellectual property protection will be more stringent, social satisfaction will reach and maintain a high level, the market value of intellectual property will be further highlighted, brand competitiveness will be significantly improved, the added value of patent intensive industries will account for 13% of GDP, and the added value of copyright industries will account for 7.5% of GDP, The total annual import and export of intellectual property royalties has reached 350 billion yuan, and the ownership of high value invention patents per 10000 people has reached 12 (the above indicators are expected indicators). By 2035, China's comprehensive competitiveness in intellectual property rights will be among the top in the world, with a complete intellectual property system and a vigorous development of innovation and entrepreneurship promoted by intellectual property rights. The cultural consciousness of intellectual property rights in the whole society will be basically formed, and a pattern of international cooperation involving comprehensive and multi-level participation in global governance of intellectual property rights will be basically formed. A powerful intellectual property country with Chinese characteristics and world level will be basically established.

In September, the air conditioning industry giant announced the invalidation decision of 190 million patents

On September 2, 2021, new progress was made in the patent infringement case involving 190 million yuan in the field of air conditioning. The China National Intellectual Property Administration made the No. 51688 Examination Decision on the Request for Invalidation, declaring the patent rights involved invalid. Wherein independent claims 1 and 2 are maintained valid. The patent CN1168903C was applied for on August 11, 2000 and transferred by Toshiba Carrier Co., Ltd. to Oxfam Air Conditioner Co., Ltd. at the end of December 2018. Due to jurisdictional objections to the invention infringement case, it has involved at least three cases and has been filed in the Supreme Court three times. The three cases correspond to three channels, namely, the Tmall platform, the JD platform, and the Gome offline store, where Oakes sued Zhuhai Gree Electric Co., Ltd. for patent infringement. At present, as the patent invalidation stage and the jurisdiction objection stage have come to an end, the infringement litigation between the giants of the air conditioning industry around this patent has truly begun.

In October, the Supreme Court of Intellectual Property concluded the first case involving patent infringement of microbial inventions

In October 2021, the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court concluded a case of infringement of the patent right for the invention of edible fungi and fungi. In its civil judgment No. (2020), the Supreme People's Court clarified the rules for determining the infringement of claims that are limited only by microbial deposit numbers. The patent holder in the case is Shanghai Fengke Biotechnology Co., Ltd., with the patent number of 201310030601.2 and the name of "Pure White Agaricus Mushroom Strain". The relevant edible fungus species preservation number is CCTCC NO: M2012378. This case is the first involving a dispute over the infringement of a microbial invention patent. In this case, the Supreme People's Court has fully played its role in the trial of intellectual property rights, clarifying the determination of the scope of protection of claims limited by microbial deposit numbers and the rules for determining infringement, highlighting the judicial orientation of strictly protecting intellectual property rights according to law and properly safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of obligees, providing useful exploration and important reference for the trial of such cases.

In November, the State Intellectual Property Office issued the "Measures for Registration of Patent Pledge"

On November 15, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration issued a notice (No. 461) on the Patent Pledge Registration Measures, which stipulates that the patent pledge contract submitted by the parties shall include the following contents related to the pledge registration: (1) the name and address of the parties; （2） The type and amount of the secured creditor's rights; （3） The time limit for the debtor to perform the debt; （4） The number of patent rights and the name, patent number, application date, and authorization announcement date of each patent right; And (5) the scope of pledge guarantee. The patent registration book records the following items in the registration of patent pledge, and announces them in the regularly published patent bulletin: pledgor, pledgee, main classification number, patent number, authorization announcement date, pledge registration date, change item, cancellation date, etc.

In December, the State Intellectual Property Office issued the "Guidelines for Inquiry of Intellectual Property Publicity Statistics"

On December 23, 2021, in order to further facilitate the public's query and use of intellectual property disclosure statistics, the State Intellectual Property Office issued the "Guidelines for Inquiry of Intellectual Property Disclosure Statistics" on its official website, sorting out and summarizing the intellectual property disclosure statistics and query methods.

In December, Beizhiyuan issued guidelines for filing patent link cases

On December 31, 2021, as the exclusive court of first instance to hear civil cases of patent disputes related to drugs applying for registration, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court formulated and issued the "Guidelines for Filing Civil Cases of Patent Disputes Related to Drugs Applying for Registration by the Beijing Intellectual Property Court (Trial)" in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and relevant judicial interpretations, In order to facilitate the parties involved in civil cases of patent disputes related to drugs that apply for registration to clarify relevant matters during the filing and review stage, with a view to providing strong judicial protection for independent innovation and high-quality development of the pharmaceutical industry, protecting the accessibility of drugs and the life and health of the broad masses of the people.