On September 3, 2018, the State Intellectual Property Office of
China announced on its website1 that the English name of the Chinese
governmental body has changed from the "State Intellectual
Property Office" ("SIPO") to the "China
National Intellectual Property Administration”
("CNIPA"). Accordingly, the agency's English
abbreviation of the bureau has changed from “SIPO” to
“CNIPA” as well. The website domain has also been
changed to http://www.cnipa.gov.cn/.
At the beginning of 2018, the Chinese government reorganized
SIPO to centralize the administration of patents, trademarks,
geographical indications of origin, and layout design of integrated
circuits. As a result, efficiency of the administration of
intellectual property affairs has greatly improved. Before the
reorganization, patent matters were handled by SIPO; trademark
matters were handled by the State Administration for Industry and
Commerce; copyright matters were handled by the National
