In case no（2021）最高法知行终322号 recently highlighted by China’s Supreme People’s Court on November 2, 2021, the Court ruled that an unintentional short payment of a patent annuity caused termination of the patent. A patentee received a “Patent Termination Notice” issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and sued CNIPA at the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, claiming that it had paid the annuity of 600 RMB, and the CNIPA nonetheless terminated its patent right. However, the 600 RMB was insufficient …
Category: Case
China Sentences Shoe Polish Counterfeiters to Up To 3 Years in Prison in Criminal Trademark Case
According to an announcement from the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court on October 28, 2021, Judges Wu Zhiyong, head of the Intellectual Property Tribunal of Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court and Judges Ni Hongxia and Wang Xiao conducted a public trial resulting in the sentencing of defendant Ding and four others to imprisonment ranging from one year seven month to three years for the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks for KIWI shoe polish. The Court also fined the …
Xiaoi Robot Seeks Preliminary Injunction Against Apple in Shanghai Patent Infringement Suit
According to a WeChat posting from Shanghai Zhizhen Intelligent Network Technology Co., Ltd. (上海智臻智能网络科技公司 also known as Xiaoi Robot), Xiaoi has filed for a preliminary injunction against Apple at the Shanghai High People’s Court on September 3, 2021 to stop patent infringement by selling, importing, etc. iPhones incorporating Siri. Xiaoi had earlier sued Apple for 10 billion RMB (~$1.4 billion USD) on August 3, 2020 at the Shanghai High People’s Court. The lawsuit for patent infringement claims Apple infringed Chinese patent no. ZL200410053749.9, …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Affirms Right to Set Royalty Rates Worldwide in OPPO/Sharp Standard Essential Patent Case
In what some might consider a breach of several countries’ sovereignty, on August 19, 2021, the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court affirmed a lower court ruling setting global licensing rates for standard essential patents (SEPs) including in the U.S., Germany and Japan. The Supreme People’s Court ruled in Sharp Corporation v. OPPO et al. in (2020) 最高法知民辖终517 号 that in SEP licensing disputes, Chinese courts can adjudicate royalty rates worldwide based on 1. whether the parties are …