The “big” thing amidst IP law in Beijing is that National People’s Congress has just had its annual meeting. Normally this event does not impact much on the trademark world. However, the Congress just announced some structural changes to China’s Trademark Office which directly impacts enforcements in 2023 and beyond.
According to the announcement, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will be restructured. Specifically, CNIPA will become an agency directly under the State Council – in other words, it will no longer stay as an unit under the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). What this means is that the responsibilities for administrative law enforcements concerning trademark and patent will continue to be handled by the SAMR, with advice and guidance from CNIPA.
Some may recall that one of the key changes back in 2018 was to merge China’s Trademark Office into the CNIPA, but rather the CNIPA was restructured in a way from a direct agency of the State Council to a sub-unit of SAMR. The changes that were announced essentially restore CNIPA back to its 2018 position, but with an addition of the Trademark Office.
What’s triggering all these changes?
According to the authorities, the restructuring is meant to “accelerate the progress of China becoming an intellectual property powerhouse”. In layman’s term and in our opinion, the impact from this structural changes is twofold: (a) it essentially lessens SAMR’s ability to handle enforcement cases. How? Because SAMR no longer directly controls agencies who are tasked to carry out enforcements. Put simply, if an agency is no longer your “boss” and they have no say to your salary, raises and bonuses, you are less likely to jump on their order compared to agencies who do have a direct say and can decide your stay or leave. (b) The shift means the courts are going to have more say when it comes to trademark and patent cases. This is largely seen as a way to consolidate power under the courts – generally, a step in the right direction. A side note is that implicit in this change, public opinion is no longer needed at the SAMR level. Put simply, this speeds up the current amendment to the Trademark Law.
Chinese Translation:
一年一度的全国人民代表大会正在北京召开，根据昨天发布的消息，国家知识产权局将由目前的国家市场监督管理总局下属单位调整为国务院直属机构。未来商标、专利等领域行政执法的职责继续由市场监督管理局的执法队伍承担，由国知局进行专业指导。
在2018年机构改革过程中商标局并入了国知局，但国知局从国务院直属机构变为市场监督管理总局下属单位，这次调整国知局等于恢复到了五年前的角色，但增加了商标局这部分。
根据全国人大的说明，这一调整是为了“加快推进知识产权强国建设”， 未来国知局在中国知识产权领域的重要性和功能有望得到进一步加强。
