China National Intellectual Property Administration ("CNIPA")

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) is the authority responsible for granting and administering invention patents, utility models, designs and trade marks in the People’s Republic of China. It was formed by bringing the former patent office and the trade mark office together within a single administration. It is also a receiving office and International Searching Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Rights granted and their examination

Invention patents are granted after substantive examination of novelty, inventive step and industrial application, which must be requested within three years of the priority date. Utility models, which protect only the shapes and structures of products, and designs are granted after a preliminary examination without substantive examination, which allows rapid grant but leaves the right open to later challenge. The validity of granted rights is challenged by a request for invalidation before the competent division of the Office, whose decisions are subject to review by the specialised administrative court in Beijing. Inventions made in China must undergo a confidentiality examination before any filing abroad, failing which the corresponding Chinese patent is invalid.

Trade marks and the fight against bad faith filings

Chinese trade mark law is based on the first-to-file principle, so that prior use of a sign confers few rights on a party that has not filed. This rule has encouraged speculative filings of foreign trade marks, against which the legislation now allows the refusal and invalidation of bad faith filings made without intention to use. The Madrid Protocol allows China to be designated in an international application, but the Office’s practice on specifications of goods and subclasses often makes a more precise national filing preferable.

Practical relevance for a French rightholder

National phase entry of an international application takes place within thirty months of priority, with a Chinese translation whose quality determines the scope of the patent. The Chinese system is distinctive in offering a dual track for enforcement against infringement: judicial, before the specialised courts, and administrative, before the local intellectual property authorities, which may order the infringing acts to cease. Recording rights with customs makes it possible to have goods detained on export, which makes China a strategic checkpoint for rightholders facing infringement manufactured there.

Key points

The Chinese Office grants invention patents after substantive examination requested within three years of priority, and utility models and designs without substantive examination. Trade marks follow the first-to-file principle, which calls for early filing in both Latin and Chinese characters. Care should be taken over the translation, the confidentiality examination should be complied with for inventions made in China and rights should be recorded with Chinese customs in order to block infringing exports.

---

This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats litigates patent disputes before the Paris Judicial Court, the Paris Court of Appeal and the Unified Patent Court. When the question arises in a real case, the right moment is almost always before proceedings are issued.

Patent litigation · Unified Patent Court · UPC case law · Tell us about your situation