About China Patent Law

The first China Patent Law was promulgated on March 12, 1984 and went into effect on April 1, 1985. It has been proved in the past 20 years that the China Patent Law has an essential effect in encouraging creation, protecting patent rights, speeding up science and technology development and facilitating implementation of the opening-up policy. The China Patent Law and the Implementing Regulations of the China Patent Law were revised in 1992 and 2000, uplifting the patent rights protection level in China. The Chinese IP system was then harmonized with the opening-up policy and with the international IP trend.
Five years have passed since the second revision of the China Patent Law and its Implementing Regulations. During these years, national and international IP trends have changed greatly, especially after the 5th Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. At the session, it was stated that we should build up China into an innovation-oriented country by promoting independent inventions and creation. Thus, more requirements for the Chinese Patent System had to be met.
In addition, international IP rules have gone through many changes. It might be neccessary for us to make certain adjustments accordingly. SIPO has initiated the prep work for the third revision of the China Patent Law. We opened relevant themes to the public and solicit ideas and comments. We are planning to submit our ideas and schemes to the State Council on the revision and trying to conlcude it in a not long period. The revision is expected to serve as robust legislative support for independent innovation and development of science and technology for China in the Eleventh Five-Year Period and a longer stretch of time.