News & Cases From China: February 2021

CNIPA Issues Measures to Improve the Quality of Patent Application  

In January 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued a Notice introducing further strict regulation of patent applications (the Notice).  It  reflects a focus on quality rather than quantity, aiming to improve the quality of patent applications by eliminating irregular applications.  It also provides  for the elimination of all monetary subsidies for patent applications by the end of June 2021. The scope of the existing local funding should be limited to granted invention patents (including invention patents authorized overseas through PCT and other means), and the funding should be in the form of post-grant subsidies. All local post-grant funding should be gradually reduced, and cancelled by 2025.