2020 Amendments To China Patent Law

On Oct. 17, 2020, the Thirteenth Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted a decision to amend the People's Republic of China Patent Law. The revised Patent Law ("New Patent Law") will become effective on June 1, 2021. This is China's fourth amendment to the Patent Law, more than 12 years since the last amendment, marking the longest gap between amendments in its history. Development of the fourth amendment started in 2014, and it includes significant changes to the Patent Law, particularly as it relates to design patents, patent enforcement and patent term adjustment.

Design Patents

1. Under Article 2 of the New Patent Law, a design patent may claim an article or portions of an article. This major change brings China's design patent protection into alignment with law in other countries and provides increased flexibility to design patent protection. In implementation of the New Patent Law, like in many countries in the world, solid lines are