Asia IP

Amendments in a new draft of the revised Patent Law focus on increased protection, patent commercialization and administrative services, said a senior official at the State Intellectual Property Office.

China Daily reported that the new draft was based on the version sent to the State Council in early 2013 for approval and it was released on April 1 to solicit opinions. The new draft addresses challenges in legal protection, such as difficulties in collecting evidence, insufficient compensation and high costs, Song Jianhua, director of SIPO’s Law and Treaty Department, said at an IP forum.

Courts can order suspects to provide financial records and other evidence if rights owners have already made failed efforts to access them, according to the draft.

“We also suggested punitive damages, about two to three times compensation, in the case of malicious infringements,” Song said.

The amended draft also has added regulations about online counterfeit cases. Amid a period of booming e-commerce, Internet service providers need to shoulder obligations to prevent and control illegal dealings online, she said.

Yang Wu, president of the All-China Patent Attorney Association, said, “Against the backdrop of a national innovation-driven strategy, the planned amendments show a higher demand for patent protection and utilization in our country.”

The move in legislation signals China’s active involvement in the changing global IP system, Yang said.

Developed and developing countries have differing patent protection circumstances－the former often have “stronger enforcement” while the latter often lean towards “weak” enforcement, he said.

As a growing number of Chinese companies have stronger performance in the international market and ask for stronger IP protection, the protection in legislation needs to shift from a minimum World Trade Organization standard to a higher level, he noted.