In a press conference on January 14, 2020, the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA)released 2019 annual statistics indicating a drop of 9.1% in invention patent application filings from 2018. Nonetheless, Chinese invention applications filed in 2019 totaled a staggering 1.401 million. This compares to 616,852 U.S. utility patent application filings in fiscal year 2019, a 3% increase over fiscal year 2018. Press conference photo from CNIPA.
Jaguar Land Rover Successfully Invalidates Chinese Design Patent for Landwind X7
The China Supreme People’s Court recently rejected the appeal by Jiangling Holdings Co Ltd. against a holding invalidating their Chinese design patent entitled Off-road Vehicle (Landwind E32) numbered 201330528226.5. In a long-running dispute between Jaguar Land Rover and Jiangling, Jiangling became notorious for manufacturing a crossover SUV Landwind X7 that bore a striking resemblance to the Range Rover Evoque.
China’s Amended TM Law Has Potential To Reduce Squatting
On November 1, 2019 China’s amended trademark law came into force. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has amended six articles of the trademark law focusing on reducing trademark squatting and increasing damages for infringement.
Shenzhen Court Rules AI-Generated Articles are Entitled to Copyright Protection
The Shenzhen Nanshan District People’s Court recently ruled in favor of plaintiff Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd. (深圳市腾讯计算机系统有限公司) in their claim for copyright infringement against Shanghai Yingmou Technology Co., Ltd. (上海盈某科技有限公司) for an article written by the artificial intelligence (AI) software Dreamwriter.