Overview On Intellectual Property Protection Notes In China During The COVID-19 Outbreak

COVID-19 has swept across the globe causing massive disruption to businesses everywhere. While the impact of COVID-19 on other parts of the world continues to increase, China's economic activity is now gradually returning to "business as usual". This note will give an overview on the measures taken by the Chinese authorities in relation to IP during the period of COVID-19 outbreak in China and will shed light on what businesses should be aware of in terms of IP protection during this unprecedented time.

Time-out Period Mechanism

The P.R.C Tackling Emergency Affairs Law, the P.R.C Patent Law, the P.R.C Trade Mark Law, the P.R.C Regulations on Protection of Layout Design of Integrated Circuits and other relevant regulations have provided for a time-out mechanism to be applied in certain situations to prevent the expiration of statutory time limits due to circumstances outside relevant parties' control. During the outbreak of COVID-19, the China National