Recently, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has issued the Work Plan for the Nationwide Administrative Protection of Intellectual Property in 2024 (the "Plan").
The Plan emphasizes the importance of balancing regulation and protection, ensuring strict protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) while preventing excessive expansion of personal and corporate rights. It aims to safeguard public interests and foster innovation concurrently, advance comprehensive protection of IPRs across the entire spectrum. It also seeks to intensify efforts to combat infringements of IPRs in key areas and critical stages, equally protect all types of IPRs of business entities under the law. Furthermore, it will continuously enhance the administrative protection and management of IPRs, contributing to the creation of a favorable environment for innovation and business. To achieve these objectives, the Plan outlines five tasks, which include strengthening the administrative protection of IPRs and enhancing the protection through administrative law enforcement. Notably, the Plan emphasizes the implementation of newly revised rules and regulations, including the effective implementation of the revised Implementation Rules of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised in 2023), focusing on regulating abnormal patent applications and falsification, and illegal acts related to patent fee reductions obtained through the provision of false materials or concealment of facts.