China IP SME Helpdesk Newsletter

In case of patent infringement, besides contacting your lawyer, SMEs might consider gathering and securing the evidence for the next litigation step. In this article, China IP SME Helpdesk external expert Dr Jian Xu lists the key steps concerning the collection of valid evidence.

In recent years, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration has taken a more proactive stance handling IP disputes in the pharmaceutical industry recently supporting “the conclusion of the first-ever national administrative ruling on a significant patent infringement dispute, initiated by Boehringer Ingelheim”. In addition, the administration has supported numerous renowned pharmaceutical companies, including foreign companies.

In line with the recently issued “Implementation Plan for the Development of the Intellectual Property Protection System”, “by 2027, China aims to achieve significant breakthroughs by addressing current key challenges in IP protection”. The plan consists of tasks/goals like setting “forth plans to fully implement a punitive damage system and to continuously carry out specialized administrative law enforcement actions”; “It continues to push for solutions to systemic challenges that hinder innovative development, such as inconsistent enforcement and judicial standards, complex procedures, and inefficient protection mechanisms” etc.

Led by the National Copyright Administration, China launched a Copyright protection campaign. It aims to “crackdown on pirated teaching and examination materials, children's picture books and cartoons”. The campaign will also target other infringing activities such as secretly recording movies at theathers.