Patent Law 1984

PATENT LAW OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA(Adopted at the Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People’s Congress and promulgated by order No. 11 of the President of the People’s Republic of China on March 12, 1984, and effective as of April 1, 1985)

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER II CONDITIONS FOR THE GRANT OF PATENT RIGHTS
CHAPTER III APPLICATION FOR PATENTS
CHAPTER IV EXAMINATION AND APPROVAL OF PATENT APPLICATIONS
CHAPTER V TERM, TERMINATION AND INVALIDATION OF PATENT RIGHTS
CHAPTER VI COMPULSORY LICENCE FOR EXPLOITATION OF A PATENT
CHAPTER VII PROTECTION OF PATENT RIGHTS
CHAPTER VIII SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. This Law is formulated in order to protect patent rights for invention-creations, encourage invention-creations and facilitate their popularization and application, promote the development of science and technology and meet the needs of the socialist modernization.

Article 2. For the purpose of this Law, " invention-creation " means inventions, utility models and designs.

Article 3. The Patent Office of the People’s Republic of China shall accept and examine patent applications and grant patent rights for invention-creations that conform to the provisions of this Law.

Article 4. If an invention-creation for which a patent is applied involves national security or other vital interests of the state that require secrecy, the matter shall be treated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state.

Article 5. No patent right shall be granted for any invention-creation that violates the laws of the state, goes against social morals or is detrimental to the public interest.

Article 6. For a job-related invention-creation made by any person in execution of the tasks of the unit to which he belongs or by primarily using the material resources of the unit, the right to apply for a patent shall belong to the unit. For an invention-creation that is not job-related, the right to apply for a patent shall belong to the inventor or designer. After an application is approved, if it was filed by a unit owned by the whole people, the patent right shall be held by such unit; if it was filed by a collectively owned unit or an individual, the patent right shall be owned by such unit or individual. For a job-related invention-creation made by any staff member or worker of a foreign-owned enterprise or a Chinese-foreign equity joint venture within the territory of China, the right to apply for a patent shall belong to the enterprise or joint venture. For an invention-creation that is not job-related, the right to apply for a patent shall belong to the inventor or designer. After the application is approved, the patent right shall be owned by the enterprise, joint venture or individual that applied for it. The owners and holders of patent rights are uniformly referred to herein as " patentees. "

Article 7. No unit or individual may suppress the application of an inventor or designer for a patent in respect of a invention-creation that is not job-related.

Article 8. For an invention-creation made jointly by two or more units, or made by a unit in execution of a commission for research or design given to it by another unit, the right to apply for a patent shall belong, unless otherwise agreed upon, to the unit which made or the units which jointly made the invention-creation. After the application is approved, the patent right shall be owned or held by the unit or units that applied for it.

Article 9. If two or more applicants apply separately for a patent on the same invention-creation, the patent right shall be granted to the person who applied first.

Article 10. The right of patent application and the patent right itself may be assigned. If a unit owned by the whole people wishes to assign a right of patent application or a patent right, it must obtain the approval of the competent authority at the next higher level. If a Chinese unit or individual wishes to assign a right of patent application or a patent right to a foreigner, it or he must obtain the approval of the relevant competent department of the State Council. In cases where a right of patent application or a patent right is assigned, the parties must conclude a written contract, which shall come into force after it is registered with and publicly announced by the Patent Office.

Article 11. After the grant of the patent right for an invention or utility model, no unit or individual may, except as provided for in Article 14 of this Law, exploit the patent without the authorization of the patentee, that is, no unit or individual may manufacture, use or sell the patented product or use the patented process for production or business purposes. After the grant of the patent right for a design, no unit or individual may exploit the patent without the authorization of the patentee, that is, no entity or individual may manufacture or sell products incorporating the patented design for production or business purposes.

Article 12. Except as provided for in Article 14 of this Law, any unit or individual exploiting the patent of another must conclude a written licensing contract with the patentee and pay the patentee a fee for the exploitation of its patent. The licensee shall not have the right to authorize any unit or individual other than that referred to in the contract to exploit the patent.

Article 13. After the application for an invention patent has been publicly announced, the applicant may require the units or individuals exploiting the invention to pay an appropriate fee.

Article 14. The relevant competent departments of the State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, in accordance with the state plan, have the power to permit designated units to exploit important invention-creation patents held by units owned by the whole people under the organizational system or jurisdiction of these departments and governments. The units exploiting such patents shall, in accordance with state provisions, pay an exploitation fee to the unit holding the patent right. If patents held by Chinese individuals or collectively owned units are of great significance to the interests of the state or the public and need to be applied on an extended scale, the matter shall be handled by the relevant competent department of the State Council according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, after reporting to the State Council and obtaining its approval.

Article 15. The patentee shall have the right to affix a patent marking and indicate the patent number on the patented product or on the packaging of that product.

Article 16. The unit owning or holding the patent right on a job-related invention-creation shall reward the inventor or designer and shall, upon exploitation of the patented invention-creation, reward the inventor or designer in accordance with the scope of its application and the economic benefits derived.

Article 17. An inventor or designer shall have the right to name himself as such in the patent document.

Article 18. If a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization having no regular residence or place of business in China files an application for a patent in China, the application shall be handled under this Law in accordance with any agreement concluded between the country to which the applicant belongs and China, or any international treaty to which both countries are parties, or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.

Article 19. If a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization having no regular residence or place of business in China applies for a patent or has other patent matters to attend to in China, he or it shall entrust a patent agency designated by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China to act on his or its behalf. If any Chinese unit or individual applies for a patent or has other patent matters to attend to in the country, it or he may entrust a patent agency to act on its or his behalf.

Article 20. If a Chinese unit or individual intends to file an application in a foreign country for a patent on an invention-creation completed in China, it or he shall first file an application for patent with the Patent Office and shall, with the sanction of the relevant competent department of the State Council, entrust a patent agency designated by the State Council to act on its or his behalf.

Article 21. Until the publication or public announcement of a patent application, staff members of the Patent Office and persons involved shall have the duty to keep the contents of the patent application confidential.

CHAPTER II CONDITIONS FOR THE GRANT OF PATENT RIGHTS
Article 22. Any invention or utility model for which a patent right may be granted must possess the characteristics of novelty, inventiveness and usefulness. " Novelty " means that, before the filing date of the application, no identical invention or utility model has been publicly disclosed in domestic or foreign publications or has been publicly used or made known to the public by any other means in the country, nor has any other person previously filed with the Patent Office an application describing an identical invention or utility model which was recorded in patent application documents published after the said date of filing. " Inventiveness " means that, compared with the technology existing before the filing date of the application, the invention has prominent and substantive distinguishing features and represents a marked improvement, or the utility model possesses substantive distinguishing features and represents an improvement. " Usefulness " means that the invention or utility model is manufacturable or usable and can produce positive results.

Article 23. Any design for which a patent right may be granted must not be identical with or similar to any design which, before the filing date of the application, has been publicly disclosed in domestic or foreign publications or has been publicly used within the country.

Article 24. Any invention-creation for which a patent is applied shall not lose its novelty if, within six months before the filing date of the application, one of the following events has occurred: (1) it was exhibited for the first time at an international exhibition sponsored or recognized by the Chinese Government; (2) it was made public for the first time at a prescribed academic or technical conference; or (3) it was disclosed by any person without the consent of the applicant.

Article 25. No patent right shall be granted for any of the following: (1) scientific discoveries; (2) rules and methods for mental activities; (3) methods for the diagnosis or treatment of diseases; (4) foods, beverages and condiments; (5) pharmaceutical products, and substances obtained by means of a chemical process; (6) animal and plant varieties; and (7) substances obtained by means of nuclear fission. For the processes used in the manufacturing of the products listed in items (4) to (6) of the preceding paragraph, a patent right may be granted in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

CHAPTER III APPLICATION FOR PATENTS
Article 26. When a patent application is filed for an invention or a utility model, relevant documents shall be submitted, including a written request, a specification and an abstract thereof, and a patent claim. The written request shall state the title of the invention or utility model, the name of the inventor or designer, the name and address of the applicant and other related matters. The specification shall describe the invention or utility model in a manner sufficiently clear and complete so that a person skilled in the relevant field of technology can accurately produce it; where necessary, drawings shall be appended. The abstract shall describe briefly the technical essentials of the invention or utility model. The patent claim shall, on the basis of the specification, state the scope of the patent protection requested.

Article 27. When a patent application is filed for a design, relevant documents shall be submitted, including a written request and drawings or photographs of the design; the product on which the design is to be used and the category of that product shall also be indicated.

Article 28. The date on which the Patent Office receives the patent application documents shall be the filing date of the application. If the application documents are sent by mail, the postmark date shall be the filing date of the application.

Article 29. If a foreign applicant applies for a patent in China within 12 months from the date on which it first filed an application in a foreign country for a patent on the same invention or utility model, or within six months from the date on which it first filed an application in a foreign country for a patent on the same design, it may enjoy a right of priority in accordance with any agreement concluded between the country to which it belongs and China, or any international treaty to which both countries are parties, or on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition of the right of priority, that is, the date on which the application was first filed in the foreign country shall be regarded as the filing date of the application. If one of the events listed in Article 24 of this Law has occurred before an applicant claims a right of priority, the period of the right of priority shall be counted from the date on which that event occurred.

Article 30. An applicant who claims a right of priority shall make a written declaration at the time of application, indicating the date of filing of the earlier application in a foreign country and the specific country in which that application was accepted, and it shall submit within three months copies of the application documents certified by the agency that accepted the application in the foreign country; if the applicant fails to make the written declaration or meet the time limit for submitting the documents, the claim to the right of priority shall be deemed not to have been made.

Article 31. Each patent application for an invention or a utility model should be limited to a single invention or utility model. Two or more inventions or utility models belonging to a single inventive concept may be submitted together in one application. Each patent application for a design should limited to a single design used on one type of product. Two or more designs used on products belonging to a single category and sold or used in sets may be submitted together in one application.

Article 32. An applicant may withdraw its patent application at any time before the patent right is granted.

Article 33. An applicant may amend its patent application documents, but the amendments may not go beyond the scope of what was recorded in the original specifications.

CHAPTER IV EXAMINATION AND APPROVAL OF PATENT APPLICATIONS
Article 34. If, after receiving an application for an invention patent, the Patent Office finds upon preliminary examination that the application conforms with the requirements of this Law, it shall publish the application within 18 months from its filing date. Upon the request of the applicant, the Patent Office may publish the application at an earlier date.

Article 35. Upon the applicant’s request for an invention patent made at any time within three years from the filing date of an application, the Patent Office may carry out substantive examination of that application. If, without any justified reason, the applicant fails to meet the time limit for requesting such substantive examination, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. The Patent Office may of its own accord carry out substantive examination of an application for an invention patent when it deems it necessary.

Article 36. When requesting substantive examination of an invention patent application, the applicant shall furnish reference materials concerning the invention that were available prior to the filing date of the application. When an applicant requests substantive examination of his application for an invention patent after he has applied in a foreign country for a patent on the same invention, he shall furnish documents from any investigations made in the foreign country for the purpose of examining that application, or documents stating the results of that examination. If, without any justified reason, the said documents are not furnished, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Article 37. If, after completing the substantive examination of an invention patent application, the Patent Office finds that the application does not conform with the provisions of this Law, it shall notify the applicant and ask it to state its observations or amend the application within a specified time limit. If, without any justified reason, the applicant fails to respond within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Article 38. If, after the applicant has stated its observations or made amendments, the Patent Office still finds that the invention patent application does not conform with the provisions of this Law, it shall reject the application.

Article 39. If, after completing the substantive examination of an invention patent application, the Patent Office finds no cause for rejection, it shall make a decision, publicly announce it and notify the applicant.

Article 40. If, after receiving an application for a utility model patent or a design patent, the Patent Office finds upon preliminary examination that the application conforms with the requirements of this Law, it shall not carry out substantive examination of the application but shall immediately make a public announcement and notify the applicant.

Article 41. Within three months from the date of the public announcement of a patent application, any person may, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, file with the Patent Office an opposition to that application. The Patent Office shall send a copy of the opposition to the applicant, and the applicant shall respond in writing within three months from the date of receiving the copy. If, without any justified reason, the applicant fails to submit a written response within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Article 42. If after examination the Patent Office finds that the opposition is justified, it shall make a decision to reject the application and shall notify the opponent and the applicant.

Article 43. The Patent Office shall set up a Patent Re-examination Board. If an applicant disagrees with the Patent Office’s decision to rejecting its application, it may, within three months from the date of receiving notification of the decision, request the Patent Re-examination Board to make a re-examination. The Patent Re-examination Board shall, after re-examination, make a decision and notify the applicant. If the applicant for an invention patent disagrees with the decision of the Patent Re-examination Board to reject its request for re-examination, it may, within three months from the date of receiving notification of the decision, file a suit in a people’s court. The decision of the Patent Re-examination Board on any re-examination requested by the applicant concerning a utility model or design shall be final.

Article 44. If there is no opposition to a patent application or, if after examination the opposition is found unjustified, the Patent Office shall make a decision to grant the patent right, issue the patent certificate and register and publicly announce the relevant matters.

CHAPTER V TERM, TERMINATION AND INVALIDATION OF PATENT RIGHTS
Article 45. The term of the patent right for inventions shall be 15 years, counted from the filing date of the application. The term of the patent right for utility models or designs shall be five years, counted from the filing date of the application. Before the expiration of the said term, the patentee may apply for an extension of three years. Where a patentee enjoys a right of priority, the term of the patent right shall be counted from the date on which the application was filed in China.

Article 46. The patentee shall pay an annual fee beginning with the year in which its patent right is granted.

Article 47. In either of the following cases, the patent right shall be terminated prior to the expiration of its term: (1) if the annual fee is not paid as prescribed; or (2) if the patentee renounces its patent right by a written declaration. The termination of a patent right shall be registered and publicly announced by the Patent Office.

Article 48. After the grant of a patent right, any unit or individual that considers the grant of the said patent right not in conformity with the provisions of this Law may request the Patent Re-examination Board to declare the patent right invalid.

Article 49. The Patent Re-examination Board shall examine the request for invalidation of a patent right, make a decision and notify the party who made the request and the patentee. Any decision declaring a patent right invalid shall be registered and publicly announced by the Patent Office. If any party disagrees with a decision of the Patent Re-examination Board either invalidating or upholding the patent right for an invention, it may, within three months after receiving notification of the decision, file a suit in a people’s court. The decision of the Patent Re-examination Board on a request to invalidate the patent right for a utility model or design shall be final.

Article 50. A patent right that has been invalidated shall be deemed to have been nonexistent from the outset.

CHAPTER VI COMPULSORY LICENCE FOR EXPLOITATION OF A PATENT
Article 51. The patentee itself shall have the obligation to manufacture the patented product or use the patented process in China, or it shall authorize other persons to manufacture the patented product or use the patented process in China.

Article 52. If, three years after the date of the grant of a patent right, the patentee of an invention or utility model has failed, without any justified reason, to fulfil the obligation set forth in Article 51 of this Law, the Patent Office may, upon the request of a unit possessing the means to exploit the invention or utility model, grant a compulsory licence to exploit the patent.

Article 53. If a patented invention or utility model is technically more advanced than another invention or utility model that was patented earlier and the exploitation of the later invention or utility model is dependent on the exploitation of the earlier invention or utility model, the Patent Office may, upon the application of the later patentee, grant a compulsory licence to exploit the earlier invention or utility model. If a compulsory licence has been granted in accordance with the provisions of preceding paragraph, the Patent Office may, upon the application of the earlier patentee, also grant a compulsory licence to exploit the later invention or utility model.

Article 54. Any unit or individual applying for a compulsory licence in accordance with the provisions of this Law shall furnish proof that it or he has not been able to conclude a licensing contract on reasonable terms with the patentee.

Article 55. Any decision made by the Patent Office granting a compulsory licence shall be registered and publicly announced.

Article 56. Any unit or individual that is granted a compulsory licence shall not have an exclusive right to exploit the patent in question, nor shall it or he have the right to authorize exploitation of the patent by others.

Article 57. Any unit or individual that is granted a compulsory licence shall pay the patentee a reasonable exploitation fee. The amount of the fee shall be decided by both parties through consultation. If the parties fail to reach an agreement, the Patent Office shall make a ruling.

Article 58. If a patentee disagrees with the decision of the Patent Office granting a compulsory licence or with its ruling regarding the exploitation fee, it may, within three months from receiving notification of the decision, file a suit in a people’s court.

CHAPTER VII PROTECTION OF PATENT RIGHTS
Article 59. The scope of protection in the patent right for an invention or a utility model shall be determined by the contents of the patent claim. The specification and appended drawings may be used to interpret the patent claim. The scope of protection in the patent right for a design shall be determined by the product incorporating the patented design as shown in the drawings or photographs.

Article 60. If any acts of infringement arise from the exploitation of a patent without the authorization of the patentee, the patentee or interested parties may request the patent administrative authorities to handle the matter or may directly file a suit in a people’s court. In handling the matter, the patent administrative authorities shall have the power to order the infringer to stop the acts of infringement and compensate for the losses. Any party dissatisfied with the order may, within three months from receiving notification of it, file a suit in a people’ shall have the power to order the infringer to stop the acts of infringement and compensate for the losses. Any party dissatisfied with the order may, within three months from receiving notification of it, file a suit in a people’s court. If, at the expiration of such period, the party has neither filed a suit nor complied with the order, the patent administrative authorities may approach the people’s court for compulsory enforcement of the order. When an infringement dispute arises, if the patented invention is a manufacturing process for a product, the unit or individual manufacturing the similar product shall furnish proof of its manufacturing process.

Article 61. The period of limitation for filing a suit concerning the infringement of a patent right shall be two years, counted from the day on which the patentee or the interested parties become aware or should become aware of the act of infringement.

Article 62. None of the following shall be deemed an infringement of a patent right: (1) use or sale of a patented product after it has been manufactured by the patentee or with the authorization of the patentee and subsequently sold; (2) use or sale of a patented product without knowledge of it having been manufactured and sold without the authorization of the patentee; (3) continued manufacture or use of a similar product, only within its original scope, by a party that, prior to the date of application for the patent in question, had already manufactured that similar product, used the same process or made the necessary preparations for such manufacture or use; (4) use of the patent in question by a foreign means of transport which temporarily passes through the territorial land, water or airspace of China for its own needs, in its devices and installations, in accordance with any agreement concluded between China and the country to which the foreign means of transport belongs, or any international treaty to which both countries are parties, or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity; or (5) use of the patent in question solely for the purposes of scientific research and experimentation.

Article 63. Whoever counterfeits the patent of another person shall be dealt with in accordance with Article 60 of this Law. If the circumstances are serious, the criminal liability of the person directly responsible shall be investigated by applying mutatis mutandis Article 127 of the Criminal Law.

Article 64. Whoever, in violation of the provisions of Article 20 of this Law, files in a foreign country an application for a patent without authorization, divulging an important state secret, shall be given administrative sanctions by the unit to which he belongs or by the competent authority at the next higher level. If the circumstances of the case are serious, his criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with the law.

Article 65. Whoever usurps the right of an inventor or designer to apply for a patent on an invention-creation that is not job-related, or usurps any other right or interest of an inventor or designer prescribed by this Law, shall be given administrative sanctions by the unit to which he belongs or by the competent authority at the next higher level.

Article 66. If any staff member of the Patent Office or any of the relevant state functionaries engages in malpractices for the benefit of friends, he shall be given administrative sanctions by the Patent Office or the competent authority concerned. If the circumstances are serious, criminal liability shall be investigated by applying mutatis mutandis Article 188 of the Criminal Law.

CHAPTER VIII SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
Article 67. For patent applications filed with the Patent Office and other procedures carried out there, fees shall be paid as prescribed.

Article 68. Rules for the implementation of this Law shall be formulated by the Patent Office and shall be submitted to the State Council for approval before they are put into effect.

Article 69. This Law shall go into effect on April 1, 1985.

Decision of the Standing Committee of the NPC on Amending Patent Law 2008

Order of the President of the People’s Republic of China
(No.8)

The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Amending the Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China, which was adopted at the 6th Session of Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on December 27, 2008, is hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of October 1, 2009.

President of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao
December 27, 2008

Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Amending the Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China
(Adopted at the 6th Session of Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on December 27, 2008)

It is decided at the 6th Session of Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China that the following amendments are made to the Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China:

1. Article 1 is amended as: “This law is enacted with a view to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of patentees, encouraging inventions, giving an impetus to the application of inventions, improving the innovative capabilities, and promoting scientific and technological progress as well as the economic and social development.”

2. Three paragraphs (paragraphs 2 through 4) are added in Article 2: “The term “invention” refers to any new technical solution relating to a product, a process or an improvement thereof.
“The term “utility model” refers to any new technical solution relating to a product’s shape, structure, or a combination thereof, which is fit for practical use.
“The term “design” refers to any new design of a product’s shape, pattern or a combination thereof, as well as the combination of the color and the shape or pattern of a product, which creates an aesthetic feeling and is fit for industrial application.”

3. Article 5 is amended as: “No patent shall be granted for an invention that contravenes any law or social morality or that is detrimental to public interests.
“No patent will be granted for an invention based on genetic resources if the access or utilization of the said genetic resources is in violation of any law or administrative regulation.”

4. One paragraph is inserted in Article 9 as paragraph 1: “One patent shall be granted to one invention. However, if the same applicant applied for both the patent for utility model and the patent for invention on a same day, if the patent for the utility model has not terminated yet and if the applicant declares to waive the patent for utility model, the patent for invention can be granted.”

5. Paragraph 2 of Article 10 is amended as: “Where a Chinese entity or individual is to assign the right to apply for a patent or a patent right to a foreigner or foreign enterprise or any foreign organization, it or he shall go through the formalities under relevant laws and administrative regulations.”
6. Paragraph 2 of Article 11 is amended as: “After the granting of a patent for a design, no entity or individual shall, without permission of the patentee, exploit the patent, that is to say, they shall not make, promise to sell, sell, or import the product incorporating its or his patented design, for production and business purposes.”
7. Article 12 is amended as: “Where an entity or individual exploits the patent of others, it or he shall conclude a licensing contract with the patentee and pay a patent royalty to the patentee. The licensee has no right to license any entity or individual other than the entity or individual as stipulated in the licensing contract to exploit the said patent”.

8. Paragraph 2 of Article 14 is deleted.

9. One article shall be added as Article 15: “If there is any agreement between the joint owners of the right to apply for a patent or a patent right regarding the exercise of the relevant right, the agreement shall be followed. If there is no such agreement, any of the joint owners may exploit the patent independently or license others to exploit the patent by means of ordinary license. In the case of licensing others to exploit the patent, royalties charged shall be distributed among the joint owners.

“Except for the circumstance as described in the preceding paragraph, the exercise of the right to apply for a patent or a patent right shall be based on the consensus of all joint owners.”

10. Articles 15 and 17 are combined as Article 17: “An inventor or designer has the right to expressly indicate in the patent documents that he is the inventor or designer.
“A patentee has the right to put a clear patent sign on its patented product or on the package of the said product.”

11. Paragraph 1 of Article 19 is amended as: “Where a foreigner, foreign enterprise or any other foreign organization that has no habitual abode or business office in China intends to apply for a patent or handle other patent-related matters in China, he or it shall authorize a legitimately formed patent agency to act as his or its agent.”
Paragraph 2 is amended as: “To apply for a patent or handle other patent-related matters in China, a Chinese entity or individual may authorize a legitimately formed patent agency to act as its or his agent.”

12. Paragraph 1 of Article 20 is amended as: “Where an entity or individual intends to file an application in a foreign country for a patent for an invention or utility model accomplished in China, it or he shall report in advance to the patent administrative department of the State Council for confidentiality review. The provisions of the State Council shall be followed in regard to the procedures and time limit for the confidentiality review.”

One paragraph is added as paragraph 4: As to an invention or utility model for which a patent application is filed in a foreign country by violating the provision of paragraph 1 of this Article, no patent will be granted for it if a patent application is filed in China.

13. One paragraph is added in Article 21 as paragraph 2: “The patent administrative department of the State Council shall completely, accurately and timely announce the patent information and regularly publish patent gazettes.”

14. Paragraph 2 of Article 22 is amended as: “Novelty means that the invention or utility model is not an existing technology, and prior to the date of application, no entity or individual has filed an application heretofore with the patent administrative department of the State Council for the identical invention or utility model and recorded it in the patent application documents or patent documents released after the said date of application.”
Paragraph 3 is amended as: “Inventiveness means, as compared with the existing technologies, the invention has prominent substantive features and notable progress and that the utility model has substantive features and progress.”
One paragraph is added as paragraph 5: “The term “existing technology” as mentioned in this Law refers to the technologies known to the general public both at home and abroad prior to the date of application.”

15. Article 23 is amended as: “Any design for which a patent right is granted shall not be attributed to the existing design, and no entity or individual, before the date of application, filed an application with the patent administrative department of the State Council on the identical design and recorded it in the patent documents published after the date of application.
“As compared with the existing design or combination of the existing design features, the design for which a patent is granted shall have distinctive features.
The patented design may not conflict with the lawful rights that have been obtained by any other person prior to the date of application.
The term “existing design” as used in this Law refers to a design known to the general public both at home and abroad prior to the date of application.”

16. One item is inserted in paragraph 1 of Article 25 as subparagraph (6): “the design, which is used primarily for the identification of pattern, color or the combination of the two on printed flat works.”

17. Paragraph 2 of Article 26 is amended as: “An application shall expressly specify the name of the invention or utility model, name of the inventor, name and address of the applicant, and other matters.”
Paragraph 4 is amended as: “The claims shall clearly and concisely state the requested patent protection scope in accordance with the specifications.”

One paragraph is added as paragraph 5: “For an invention based on genetic resources, the applicant shall state the direct source and the original source of the genetic resources in the application documents. If the applicant is not able to state the original source, it or he shall state the reasons.”

18. Article 27 is amended as: “To apply for a patent for a design, the applicant shall submit an application, pictures or photos of the design, a brief introduction to the design, and other documents.
“The relevant pictures or photos submitted by the applicant shall clearly show the product’s design for which the patent protection is requested.”

19. Paragraph 2 of Article 31 is amended as: “An application for a design patent shall be limited to one design. As to two or more similar designs for the same product or for products which fall into the same class and are sold or used in sets, an application for one design may be filed.”

20. Paragraph 2 of Article 47 is amended as: “The decision on invalidating a patent right shall, prior to the invalidation of the patent right, have no retroactive effect on any judgment or mediation document on patent infringement which has been made and enforced by the people’s court, on any implemented or compulsorily enforced decision concerning the settlement of a dispute over patent infringement, or on any performed contract for license of patent exploitation or for assignment of patent right. However, the patentee shall compensate for the damages it or he has maliciously caused to others.”

Paragraph 3 is amended as: “Where, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the fact that no patent infringement compensation, no royalty for the exploitation of the patent or no patent assignment fee is refunded is obviously contrary to the principle of fairness, it shall be totally or partially refunded.”

21 Article 48 is amended as: “Under any of the following circumstances, the patent administrative department of the State Council may, upon the application of an eligible entity or individual, grant it or him a compulsory license to exploit the patent for an invention or utility model:
1. The patentee, after the lapse of 3 full years from the date patent is granted and after the lapse of 4 full years from the date when a patent application is filed, fails to exploit or to fully exploit its or his patent without any justifiable reason; or
2. The patentee’s act of exercising the patent rights is determined as a monopolizing act and it is to eliminate or reduce the adverse consequences of the said act on competition.”

22. One article is added as Article 50: “For the purpose of public health, the patent administrative department of the State Council may grant a compulsory license for a patented medicine so as to produce and export it to the country or region which conforms to the provisions of the relevant international treaty to which the People’s Republic of China has acceded.”

23. One article is added as Article 52: “Where the invention involved in the compulsory license is a semi-conductor technology, the exploitation of the compulsory license shall be limited only to public interests and the circumstance as described in Article 48 (2) of this Law.”

24. One article is added as Article 53: “Besides the circumstances as described in Article 48 (2) and Article 50 of this Law in which a compulsory license is granted, the exploitation of a compulsory license shall be implemented primarily for supplying the domestic market.”

25. Article 51 is changed to Article 54 and is amended as: “An entity or individual who applies for a compulsory license under Article 48 (1) or Article 51 of this Law shall furnish evidence that can prove that it or he has requested the patentee for a license to exploit its or his patent on reasonable terms but failed to obtain such a license within a reasonable time.”

26. Article 54 is changed to Article 57 and is amended as: “The entity or individual that is granted a compulsory license for exploitation shall pay to the patentee a reasonable royalty or deal with the royalty issue under the relevant international treaties to which the People’s Republic of China has acceded. If a royalty is to be paid, the amount of the royalty shall be decided by both parties upon negotiation. If the parties fail to reach an agreement, the issue shall be settled by the patent administrative department of the State Council.”

27. Article 56 is changed to Article 59 and is amended as: “The scope of protection of the patent for an invention or utility model shall be that as specified in the claims. The specifications and the appended pictures may be used to interpret the claims.

The scope of protection of the patent for a design shall be determined by the product incorporating the patented design as shown in the drawings or photographs, the brief introduction may be used for introducing the patented design as shown in the pictures or photos.”

28. Paragraph 2 of Article 57 is changed to Article 61 and is amended as: “Where any dispute over patent infringement involves a patent for invention for the manufacturing process of a new product, the entity or individual manufacturing the identical product shall provide proof on the difference of its own process used in the manufacture of its product from the patented process.

“Where any dispute over patent infringement involves a patent for utility model or design, the people’s court or the patent administrative department may require the patentee or the interested parties to present a patent assessment report issued by the patent administrative department of the State Council, after the retrieval, analysis and assessment of the pertinent utility model or design, as a proof for trying and settling the dispute over patent infringement.”

29. One Article is added as Article 62: “In a dispute over patent infringement, if the accused infringer has evidence to prove that the technology or design it or he exploits is an existing technology or design, no patent infringement is constituted.”

30. Articles 58 and 59 are combined into Article 63 and amended as: “Whoever counterfeits the patent of anyone else shall, in addition to bearing the civil liabilities in accordance with the law, be ordered by the patent administrative department to make a correction and be announced by the patent administrative department; its or his illegal gains, if any, shall be confiscated, and it or he may be fined up to three times the illegal gains. If there is no illegal gain, it or he may be fined up to 200, 000 Yuan. If any crime is constituted, it or he shall be subject to criminal liabilities according to law.”

31. One article is added as Article 64: “When the patent administrative department investigates into and deals with a suspected counterfeit patent case on the basis of the evidence it has already gathered, it may query the relevant parties so as to find the information relevant to the suspected violation, may conduct an on-site inspection over the site of party suspected of having committed the violation, may consult and copy the contracts, invoices, account books and other materials relating to the suspected violation, may check the products relating to the suspected violation, and may seal up or detain the counterfeit patented product as proved by evidence.

“When the patent administrative department exercises the functions as prescribed in the preceding paragraph according to law, the parties shall assist and cooperate with it and shall not reject or hamper it.”

32. Article 60 is changed to Article 65 and amended as: “The amount of compensation for a patent infringement shall be determined on the basis of the actual losses incurred to the patentee as a result of the infringement. If it is difficult to determine the actual losses, the actual losses may be determined on the basis of the gains which the infringer has obtained from the infringement. If it is difficult to determine the losses incurred to the patentee or the gains obtained by the infringer, an amount shall be reasonably determined by reference to the multiple of the royalties for this patent. In addition, the compensation amount shall include the reasonable expenses that the patentee has paid for stopping the infringement.

“If it is difficult to determine the losses incurred to the patentee, the gains obtained by the infringer as well as the royalty for the patent, the people’s court may, by taking into account such factors as the type of patent, nature and particulars of the infringement, etc., decide a compensation in the sum of not less than 10, 000 yuan but not more than 1 million yuan.

33. Article 61 is changed to Article 66 and amended as: “Where a patentee or interested party has evidence to prove that someone else is committing or is going to commit an infringement upon the patent right, and its (his) lawful rights and interests will be damaged and are difficult to be remedied if the said infringement is not stopped in time, it or he may, prior to initiating a lawsuit, apply to the people’s court for taking such measures as ordering the stop of the relevant act.

“When an applicant files an application, it shall provide a guarantee. If it or he fails to do so, the application shall be rejected.

“The people’s court shall make a ruling within 48 hours as of its acceptance of an application. If it is necessary to extend the time limit in a special circumstance, the time limit may be extended for up to 48 hours. If a ruling is made to stop the relevant act, it shall be executed immediately. If any party refuses to accept the ruling, it (he) may apply for one review. The execution of the ruling is not suspended during the process of review.

“If the applicant fails to lodge a lawsuit within 15 days after it takes such measures as ordering the stop of the relevant act, the people’s court shall lift the said measure.

“Where there are errors in an application, the applicant shall compensate the party against whom an application is filed for the losses caused by the stop of the relevant act.”

34. One article is added as Article 67: “To stop a patent infringement, the patentee or any interested party may apply to the people’s court for preserving the evidence when such evidence is likely to be destroyed and hard to be obtained again.

“The people’s court may order the applicant to provide a guarantee for the preservation. If the applicant fails to do so, its or his application shall be rejected.

The people’s court shall make a ruling within 48 hours after it accepts an application. If it makes a ruling on preserving the evidence, the ruling shall be executed immediately.

If the applicant fails to initiate a lawsuit within 15 days after the people’s court has taken the measure of preserving the evidence, the people’s court shall terminate the said measure.

35. Paragraph 1 of Article 63 is changed to Article 69, subparagraph (1) is amended as: “the use, promise to sell, sell or import of the patented product or product directly obtained under the patented process after the said product is sold by the patentee or by its (his) licensed entity or individual;”

One item is added as item (5): “for the purpose of providing the information as required for administrative examination and approval, the production, use or import of patented medicine or patented medicinal equipment as well as the patented medicine or patented medicinal equipment produced or imported exclusively for the said purpose.”

36. Paragraph 2 of Article 63 is changed to Article 70 and amended as: “Whoever uses or sells a patented product without knowing that the product was produced and sold without permission of the patentee or a product directly obtained from a patented process for the purpose of production and business operation is not required to bear the liabilities for compensation provided that it or he can prove that the product is obtained from a legal source.”

This Decision shall be implemented as of October 1, 2009.

The Patent Law of the Peoples’ Republic of China shall be re-promulgated after the corresponding amendments are made and after the sequential order of its articles is adjusted according to this Decision.

Administrative Measures for the Safety of Places of Origin of Agricultural Products

Order of the Ministry of Agriculture (No. 71) The Administrative Measures for the Safety of Places of Origin of Agricultural Products, which were adopted at the 25th executive meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture on September 30, 2006, are hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of November 1, 2006. Minister Du Qinglin October 17, 2006 Administrative Measures for the Safety of Places of Origin of Agricultural Products Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 For the purposes of strengthening the administration of places of origin of agricultural products, improving the conditions of the places of origin and ensuring the safety of places of origin, these Measures are formulated in accordance with the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Agricultural Product Quality Safety. Article 2 The term “places of origin of agricultural products” refers to the relevant regions, in which the plants, animals and microbes as well as their products are produced. The term “safety of places of agricultural products” means that the quality of the soil, water body and atmosphere environment of the places of origin of agricultural products meet the requirements for the production of agricultural products of safe quality. Article 3 The Ministry of Agriculture shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products. The agriculture administrative departments of the people’s governments at the county level and above shall be responsible for the demarcation, supervision and administration of the places of origin of agricultural products within their respective administrative area. Chapter II Monitoring and Evaluation of Places of Origin Article 4 An agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall establish a sound system of monitoring the safety of places of origin of agricultural products, intensify the investigation, monitoring and evaluation of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products, work out annual reports on the status and development trend of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products and submit the said reports to the agriculture administrative department of the next higher level for archival purposes. Article 5 An agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the province level or above shall set up state-level and province-level monitoring points in the following areas so as to monitor the dynamic changes of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products and direct the administration and production of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products. (1)The production areas of agricultural products around industrial and mining enterprises; (2)The sewage irrigation areas; (3)The production areas of agricultural products in suburbs of big and medium cities; (4)The production areas of important agricultural products; and (5)Other areas necessary to be monitored. Article 6 The technical norms such as the relevant national standards shall be observed in the investigation, monitoring and evaluation of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products. The establishment, change and revocation of a monitoring point shall be subject to expert evaluation. Article 7 An agriculture administrative department at the county level or above shall strengthen the collection of information about the safety of places of origin of agricultural products and shall establish complete monitoring archives of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products. The monitoring archives shall exactly record the changes of the status of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products and shall preserve such records for a long time. Chapter III Demarcation and Adjustment of Prohibited Production Areas Article 8 If the toxic and harmful substances in a place of origin of agricultural products do not meet the standards on the safety of places of origin and if they cause that the toxic and harmful substances in the agricultural products do not meet the agricultural product quality safety standards, it shall be demarcated as a prohibited agricultural product production area. An areas prohibited to produce edible agricultural products may produce non-edible agricultural products. Article 9 In case of the circumstance as mentioned in Article 8 of these Measures, the agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall put forward a suggestion on the demarcation of prohibited production area and shall submit it to the agriculture administrative department at the province level. The agriculture administrative department at the province level shall organize an expert evaluation, and report the following materials to the people’s government for approval and make an announcement upon approval. (1)The monitoring result of the safety of place of origin and the testing result of agricultural products; (2)The report on the monitoring and evaluation of the safety of place of origin, including analyses of the pollution causes, pertinence between the place of origin and the agricultural product pollution, evaluation method and conclusion; (3)The report of expert evaluation; and (4)The suggestions on the agricultural production structure and the relevant settlement measures. Article 10 After the demarcation of a prohibited production area, the nature of the cultivation land or basic farm shall not be changed. The compensation standards on the requisition of farm land shall not be lowered. Article 11 The agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level shall erect a signpost in a prohibited production area, which shall indicate the location of the prohibited production area, boundaries, area, types of agricultural products prohibited to be produced, main pollutants, approval entity, date of erection of the signpost, etc. No entity or individual may illegally move away or destroy any signpost. Article 12 After the safety status of prohibited production area is improved and meets the relevant standards, the agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall timely put forward an adjustment suggestion. The adjustment of a prohibited production area shall be made in accordance with Article 9 of these Measures. Where a prohibited production area is adjusted, the content of the signpost shall be changed or the signpost shall be removed. Article 13 An agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall timely submit the results of demarcation and adjustment of the prohibited agricultural product production areas within its administrative area to the Ministry of Agriculture for archival purposes. Chapter IV Protection of Places of Origin Article 14 An agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall popularize the clean production technologies and methods and develop dynamic agriculture. Article 15 An agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall work out a plan on the pollution prevention and protection of places of origin of agricultural products and integrate it into its plan on development of agriculture and rural economy. Article 16 An agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall take biological, chemical and engineering measures to recover and administer a prohibited agricultural product production area or any other agricultural product production area in which the toxic and harmful substances do not satisfy the standards on the origin of places. Article 17 An agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall take measures to intensify the scientific research, technology popularization and publicity and training regarding the recovery and administration of polluted places of origin. Article 18 The environmental impact evaluation document on an agricultural construction project shall, upon examination and approval of the agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above, be submitted to the relevant department for examination and approval. Where any established enterprise or project pollutes a place of origin of agricultural products, the agriculture administrative department of the local people’s government shall apply with the people’s government at the same level for taking measures to decrease or eliminate the pollution damage. Article 19 No entity or individual may produce, fish or gather any prohibited edible agricultural products from or establish production base of agricultural products in any prohibited production area. Article 20 Any entity or individual is prohibited to emit or dump any exhaust gas, waste water, solid waste or any other toxic or harmful substance to any place of origin of agricultural products. It is prohibited to pile, store or dispose any industrial solid waste in any place of origin of agricultural products. Where industrial solid waste is piled, stored or disposed around any place of origin of agricultural products, effective measures shall be taken to prevent any damage to the safety of place of origin of agricultural products. Article 21 Where an entity or individual offers or uses urban trash, sewage sludge or any other solid waste as agricultural water or fertilizer, it shall make innocuous treatment of the said solid waste and shall make it conform to the relevant standards of the state. Article 22 An agricultural product producer shall reasonably use fertilizer, pesticide, veterinary medicine, feed, feed additive, agricultural films and other agricultural inputs. It is prohibited to use any agricultural input which is clearly banned by the state or is obsolete or is unlicensed. An agricultural product producer shall timely eliminate, re-collect agricultural films, packing materials of agricultural inputs, etc. so as to prevent them from polluting the environment of place of origin of agricultural products. Chapter V Supervision and Inspection Article 23 An agriculture administrative department at the county level or above shall be responsible for the supervision and inspection of the safety of places of origin of agricultural products. Where an agriculture administrative law enforcer performs the supervision and inspection duties, he shall show his administrative law enforcement certificate to the entity or individual to be inspected. The relevant entity or individual shall faithfully provide the pertinent information and materials, shall not reject the inspection or provide any false information. Article 24 Where an agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above finds that a place of origin of agricultural products is endangered by pollution, it shall order the entity or individual causing such pollution to take measures to reduce or eliminate the pollution. If the said entity or individual refuses to do so, that shall be reported to the people’s government at the same level to punish it (him). Where any pollution accident takes place in a place of origin of agricultural products, the agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the county level or above shall investigate and deal with it. For any emergency of pollution to the agricultural environment, it shall be tackled according to the plan on the emergencies of pollution to the agricultural environment. Article 25 The operating funds for the monitoring, supervision and inspection of the safety of places of origin shall be integrated into the annual budget of the agriculture administrative department of the people’s government at the same level. No entity or individual inspected may be charged any fee for the monitoring, supervision and inspection of the safety of places of origin. Article 26 Any prohibited production area, which is demarcated by violating the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Agricultural Product Quality Safety and these Measures, shall be null and void. Where anyone violates these Measures because of illegally moving away or destroying the signpost of any prohibited production area, the agriculture administrative department of the local people’s government at the county level or above shall order it to make a correction and may fine it (him) 1, 000 yuan or less. Any other violator of these Measures shall be punished in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations. Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions Article 27 These Measures shall come into force as of November 1, 2006.

Measures for the Administration of Geographical Indications of Agricultural Products

Order of the Ministry of Agriculture
(No.11)

The Measures for the Administration of Geographical Indications of Agricultural Products, which have been deliberated and adopted at the 15th executive meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture on December 6th, 2007, are hereby promulgated, and shall come into force as of February 1st, 2008.

Minister: Sun Zhengcai

December 25th, 2007

Measures for the Administration of Geographical Indications of Agricultural Products

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 For the purpose of regularizing the use of geographical indications of agricultural products, guaranteeing the quality and characteristics of agricultural products with geographical indications and improving the market competitiveness of agricultural products, these Measures are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Agriculture Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Quality Safety of Agricultural Products.

Article 2 The term “agricultural product” as mentioned in these Measures refers to primary products sourced from agriculture, namely, plants, animals, microorganisms and the products thereof obtained in agricultural activities.

The term “geographical indications of agricultural products” as mentioned in these Measures refers to special agricultural product indications which are named by territorial names and are meant to tell that the indicated agricultural products are from a specific area and that the quality and major characteristics of the products mainly lie in the natural and ecological environment as well as cultural and historical factors of the area.

Article 3 The state applies the registration system to geographical indications of agricultural products. Registered geographical indications of agricultural products shall be under the protection of law.

Article 4 The Ministry of Agriculture shall be in charge of the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products of the whole nation, while the agricultural product quality safety center under it shall be in charge of the examination and expert appraisal of geographical indications of agricultural products.

The administrative department of agriculture under the people’s government at the provincial level shall be in charge of accepting and preliminarily examining the applications filed within this administrative region for the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products.

The expert committee established by the Ministry of Agriculture for the appraisal of the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products shall be in charge of the expert appraisal work. The expert committee shall be composed of experts in crop and plant production, animal husbandry, fishery and agricultural product quality safety, etc.

Article 5 No fee may be charged for the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products. The administrative department of agriculture under the people’s government at or above the county level shall bring the expenses for the administration of geographical indications of agricultural products into the annual budget of this department.

Article 6 The administrative department of agriculture under the people’s government at or above the county level shall bring the protection and utilization of geographical indications of agricultural products into the development planning of agriculture and rural economy of this administrative region and give support in terms of policy and funds.

The state encourages social forces to assist push forward the development of geographical indications of agricultural products.

Chapter II Registration

Article 7 An agricultural product whose geographical indication is applied for registration shall meet the following requirements:
1. its name is composed of the name of the geographic area and the general name of the agricultural product;
2. the product has unique characteristics or special mode of production;
3. the quality and characteristic of the product mainly lie on the unique natural and ecological environment as well as cultural and historical factors;
4. the product has a limited producing area; and
5. the environment of its producing area and its quality satisfy the state’s compulsory technical norms.

Article 8 Applicants for the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products shall be excellent professional cooperative economic organizations of farmers and industrial associations determined by the local people’s government at or above the county level in accordance with the following conditions:
1. having the capability for supervising and administering the geographical indications of agricultural products and the products thereof;
2. having the capability for providing guidance for the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products with geographical indications; and
3. having the capability for bearing civil liabilities independently.

Article 9 An applicant satisfying the conditions for the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products may file a registration application with the administrative department of agriculture under the people’s government at the provincial level and submit the following application material:
1. a registration application form;
2. a certificate on the qualification of the applicant;
3. a description on the typical characteristics of the product and a corresponding product quality appraisal report;
4. the environment conditions of the producing area of the product, the technical norms for production and the technical norms for product quality safety;
5. a document determining the territorial scope, and a distribution map of its producing area;
6. a straight sample or a sample picture of the product; and
7. other necessary descriptive or evidentiary material.

Article 10 The administrative department of agriculture under the provincial people’s government shall, within 45 workdays from the date when the application for the registration of a geographical indication of agricultural products is accepted, finish the preliminary examination on the application material and the on-site verification, and propose its preliminary examination opinion. If the application satisfies the relevant requirements, it shall file the application material together with the preliminary examination opinion with the agricultural product quality safety center under the Ministry of Agriculture; if not, it shall notify the applicant of its opinion and suggestion within 10 workdays from the date when the preliminary examination opinion comes out.

Article 11 The agricultural product quality safety center under the Ministry of Agriculture shall, within 20 workdays from the date when it receives the application material and the preliminary examination opinion, examine the application material, propose its examination opinion and organize experts to appraise.

The expert appraisal work shall be undertaken by the expert committee for the appraisal of the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products. The expert committee shall work out appraisal conclusions independently and be responsible for these conclusions.

Article 12 If the expert committee is in favor of the application after appraisal, the agricultural product quality safety center under the Ministry of Agriculture shall publish an announcement on approving the application on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture.

If any entity or individual has any objection to the approval, it/he shall, within 20 days from the date of expiration of the announcement, present the objection to the agricultural product quality safety center under the Ministry of Agriculture. If no objection has been received, the Ministry of Agriculture shall make a decision on putting the geographical indication on registration, publish an announcement thereon, issue the Certificate of the People’s Republic of China on the Registration of Geographical Indications of Agricultural Products, and publish the relevant technical norms and standards for the products concerned.

If the expert committee is not in favor of the application after appraisal, the Ministry of Agriculture shall make a decision on disapproving the registration, and notify the applicant of the disapproval and reasons in written form.

Article 13 The registration certificate of a geographical indication of agricultural products shall be valid permanently.

Under any of the following circumstances, a registration certificate holder shall file an application for modification in accordance with the prescribed procedure:
1. the registration certificate holder or the legal representative changes; or
2. the territorial scope or corresponding natural and ecological environment changes.

Article 14 A geographical indication of agricultural products shall be a combination of a public mark and the name of the territorial product. See the attached drawing for the basic patterns of public marks. The norms for the use of geographical indications of agricultural products shall be formulated and promulgated by the Ministry of Agriculture in another initiative.

Chapter III Use of Indications

Article 15 An entity or individual may apply to the registration certificate holder for using the registered geographical indication as long as it/he satisfies the following conditions:
1. the agricultural product produced or traded by it/him originates from the territorial scope indicated in the registration certificate;
2. it/he has obtained the corresponding qualification for producing or trading the agricultural product concerned;
3. it/he is capable of conducting producing and trading activities in strict accordance with the prescribed quality and technical norms; and
4. it/he has the capacity for the market development and operation of the agricultural product concerned.

To use a geographical indication, an entity or individual shall conclude an agreement on the use of geographical indication with the registration certificate holder of the indication on the basis of production and operation year, and the agreement shall bear the quantity and scope of use as well as the relevant responsibilities and obligations.

The registration certificate holder of a geographical indication of agricultural products may not charge fees for use against users of the indication.

Article 16 A user of a geographical indication of agricultural products shall be entitled to:
1. use the geographical indication on his/its products and the packages thereof; or
2. use the registered geographical indication to make publicity or participate in exhibitions or sales fairs.

Article 17 A user of a geographical indication of agricultural products shall be obliged to:
1. voluntarily accept the supervision and examination of the registration certificate holder of the indication;
2. guarantee the quality and credibility of the agricultural product covered by the indication; and
3. correctly and legally use the indication.

Chapter IV Supervision and Administration

Article 18 The administrative department of agriculture under the people’s government at or above the county level shall strengthen the supervision and administration of geographical indications of agricultural products, and supervise and examine the territorial scope of agricultural products whose geographical indications have been registered and the use of such indications on a regular basis.

Where an agricultural product whose geographical indication has been registered or a registration certificate holder fails to satisfy the requirements specified in Article 6 or 7, the Ministry of Agriculture shall write off the registration certificate, and publish an announcement thereon.

Article 19 The producers and operators of agricultural products with geographical indications shall establish a quality control tracing system. Holders of certificates on the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products and users of such indications shall be responsible for the quality and credibility of the agricultural products concerned.

Article 20 No entity or individual may forge or falsely use any geographical indications of agricultural products or any registration certificates.

Article 21 The state encourages entities and individuals to exercise social supervision over geographical indications of agricultural products.

Article 22 Where any worker of registration administration, supervision and examination of geographical indications of agricultural products abuses his authorized power, neglects his duty or engages in malpractice for personal gains, he shall be punished according to law; if he is suspected of committing any crime, he shall be transferred to the judicial organ and bear corresponding criminal liability.

Article 23 Where any entity or individual violates the provisions of these Measures, the administrative department of agriculture under the people’s government at or above the county level shall punish it/him in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Quality Safety of Agricultural Products.

Chapter V Supplementary Provisions

Article 24 The Ministry of Agriculture accepts applications for the registration of geographical indications of agricultural products from foreign countries, and protects them once they have been registered in the People’s Republic of China. The specific measures shall be worked out in another initiative.

Article 25 These Measures shall come into force as of February 1st, 2008.

Attached Drawing: Basic Patterns of Public Marks (Omitted)

Interpretation Relating to Adjudication of and Application of Law to Cases of Copyright Disputes on Networks 2000

Interpretation by the Supreme People's Court of Several Issues Relating to Adjudication of and Application of Law to Cases of Copyright Disputes on Computer Network

(Adopted at the 1144th Meeting of the Adjudication Commission of the Supreme People's Court on 21 December 2000, and went into effect on 21 December 2000)

With a view to duly adjudicating cases of copyright disputes on computer network, an interpretation of several issues relating to the application to this category of cases is made as follows in accordance with the provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law, the Copyright Law and the Civil Procedure Law.

Article 1. Cases of copyright disputes on computer network are under the jurisdiction of the people's court of the place in which an infringing act is committed or in which the defendant has his or its domicile. The places in which an infringing act is committed includes the place where equipment used to carry out accused infringing acts, such as network servers, computer terminals,etc.. Where the place in which an infringing act is committed and in which the defendant has his or its domicile is hard to determine, the place of the equipment such as a computer terminal in which the plaintiff has found the contents of infringement may be deemed the place where the infringing act is committed.

Article 2. Works under the protection of the Copyright Law shall include the digitized form of all the categories of works specified in Article 3 of the Copyright Law. Other achievements of intellectual creation shall be protected by the people's court which cannot be placed in the works categorized in Article 3 of the Copyright Law, but are original in the field of literature, art and science, and reproducible in some tangible form.
The provisions of Article 10 of the Copyright Law for the various rights of the copyright all apply to the copyright in the digitized works. Communication of works to the public through network is a way to use works under the Copyright Law, and the copyright owner shall enjoy the rights to use or allow others to use the work in a variety of ways and to be remunerated therefor.

Article 3 , Except that the copyright owner otherwise states or an Internet service provider (ISP) states on his or its behalf that a work, published in the press or on the Internet, should not be reprinted and adapted, reprinting and adaptation of a work, with the remuneration paid according to the relevant provisions and source thereof indicated, do not constitute an infringement. However, such reprinting and adaptation going beyond the scope of reprinting of works in press shall be established as an infringement.

Article 4. Where an internet service provider participates in any act of another person to infringe copyright through network, or aids and abets, on the Internet, others to carry out any act of copyright infringement, the people's court shall investigate it and other actors or any other person having directly carried out the infringement, and impose joint liability thereon.

Article 5. Where any Internet service provider engaged in provision of information contents has obtained clear knowledge that an Internet user is, carrying out on the Internet, an act of infringement on another person's copyright, or being warned by the copyright owner based on solid evidence, failure to take measures for removal and elimination of the infringing contents in order to eradicate the consequence of the infringement, the people's court shall investigate it and the network user, and impose joint liability thereon according to the provision of Article 130 of the General Principles of the Civil law.

Article 6. Where any Internet service provider engaged in provision of information contents refuses, without justification, to provide the registration material of the infringer on its network as requested for by the copyright owner in an effort to investigate and impose liability for the infringement, ...the people's court shall investigate it, and impose corresponding liability thereon according to the provision of Article 106 of the General Principles of the Civil law.

Article 7. Where any copyright owner who, upon finding out the infringing information warns the Internet service provider or requests for the registration material of the infringer on the network, is unable to produce proofs of his identification, ownership of copyright and the infringement, such warning or request shall be deemed not to have been made.
Where, after the copyright owner produces said proofs, the Internet service provider does not take measures, the copyright owner, when instituting legal proceedings, apply to the people's court for its firstly deciding to stop the infringement, remove impediment, eliminate ill effect, and the people's court shall give the permission.

Article 8. Where any Internet service provider takes measures, such as removal and elimination of the infringing information contents, upon the warning by the copyright owner based on solid evidence, and where the accused infringer requests the Internet service provider to be liable for breach of contract, the people's court shall not support such request.
Where the copyright owner's accusation of infringement is not based on facts, and the accused infringer has suffered damages as caused by the measures taken by the Internet service provider, and claims for compensation for the damages, the people's court shall decide to order the person giving the warning to bear the liability therefor.

Article 9. when hearing cases of copyright dispute on the Internet, the people's court shall respectively apply the laws as the following according to the different circumstances of the cases.
(1) The provisions of Article 45 (1), (2), (3) and (4) of the Copyright Law shall apply to the determination of infringement on the personal rights, such as the right of publication;
(2) The provisions of Article 45 (5) of the Copyright Law shall apply to the determination of infringement on the right of use in the communication of a work to the public;
(3) The provisions of Article 45 (6) of the Copyright Law shall apply to the determination of infringement on the right of remuneration;
(4) The provisions of Article 45 (8) of the Copyright Law shall apply to the determination of infringement on the neighbouring rights of phonogram producers, performers, and broadcasting and television organizations, or to the determination that the acts as caused by deliberate deletion or alteration of the copyright management information constitute infringement; and
(5) The provisions of Article 46 (1) of the Copyright Law shall apply to the determination of infringement by plagiarizing and copying another person's work.

Article 10. When determining the amount of damages arising from an infringement, the people's court may, by the request of the infringee, calculate the amount of damages according to the direct economic damages to and losses of the expected interests thereto; it may also calculate the damages on the bases of the income the infringer makes from the infringing act. Where the infringer cannot give proof of its costs or the necessary expenses, the income made thereby from the infringing act shall be the interests sought thereby.
Where the infringee's damages cannot be determined, the people's court may, by the request of the infringee, determine the amount of damages to be RMB 500 yuan to no more that RMB 300,000 yuan, but not exceeding RMB 500,000 yuan at most.

Interpretation Relating to Application of Law to Trial of Cases of Dispute over Copyright on networks 2004

Interpretation by the Supreme People's Court of Several Issues Relating to Application of Law to Trial of Cases of Dispute over Copyright on Computer Network
(Adopted at the 1144th Meeting of the Adjudication Commission of the Supreme People's Court on 22 November 2000; Amended at 1302nd the Meeting of the Adjudication Commission of the Supreme People's Court on 23 December 2003 and Entering into Force on 7 January 2004)

With a view to duly trying cases of disputes over copyright on computer network, this interpretation of the several issues relating to the application of law to this category of cases has hereby been made as follows in accordance with the provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law, the Copyright Law and the Civil Procedure Law.

Article 1. A case of dispute over copyright on computer network shall be under the jurisdiction of the people's court of the place where an infringing act is committed or where the defendant has his or its domicile. The places where infringing acts are committed shall include places where equipment used to carry out accused infringing acts, such as network servers or computer terminals, etc. is located. Where the place in which an infringing act is committed or in which the defendant has his or its domicile is difficult to determine, the place of the equipment, such as a computer terminal, in which the plaintiff has found the contents of infringement may be deemed the place where the infringing act is committed.

Article 2. Works protected under the Copyright Law shall include the digital form of all the categories of works specified in Article 3 of the Copyright Law. Other achievements of intellectual creation shall be accorded the protection by the people's court which cannot be categorised as the works enumerated in Article 3 of the Copyright Law and which are original in the field of literature, art and science, and reproducible in some tangible form.

Article 3. Except that the copyright owner otherwise states, or the press or an Internet service provider (ISP) states on his or its behalf with entrustment thereby to this effect, that a work published in the press or on the Internet should not be reprinted and adapted, reprinting and adaptation of a work, with the remuneration paid according to the relevant provisions and source thereof indicated, do not constitute infringement. However, reprinting and adaptation going beyond the scope of a work reprinted in the press shall be established as infringement.

Article 4. Where an Internet service provider participates in any act of another person to infringe copyright through network, or aids and abets, on the Internet, others to carry out any act of copyright infringement, the people's court shall, pursuant to the provision of Article 130 of the General Principles of the Civil law, investigate it and other actors or any other person having directly carried out the infringement, and impose joint liability thereon.

Article 5. Where any Internet service provider engaged in provision of information contents has obtained clear knowledge that an Internet user is carrying out, on the Internet, an act of infringement of another person's copyright, or being warned by the copyright owner with solid evidence, and failed to take measures to remove and eliminate the infringing contents so as to eradicate the consequence of the infringement, the people's court shall investigate it and the network user, and impose joint liability thereon pursuant to the provision of Article 130 of the General Principles of the Civil law.

Article 6. Where any Internet service provider engaged in provision of information contents refuses, without justification, to provide the registration material of the infringer on its network as requested for by the copyright owner in an effort to investigate and impose liability for the infringement, the people's court shall investigate it, and impose corresponding liability thereon according to the provision of Article 106 of the General Principles of the Civil law.

Article 7. Where an Internet service provider has obtained clear knowledge of, and uploads, transmits or supplies, method, means or material used specially for intentionally circumventing or destroying another person's technological measures for the protection of copyright, the people's court shall investigate the Internet service provider pursuant to the provision of Article 47 (6) of the Copyright Law at the litigant request of an interested party and according to the specific circumstances of the case.

Article 8. Where any copyright owner who, upon finding out the infringing information, warns the Internet service provider about this or requests for the network registration material of the infringer is unable to produce proofs of his identification, ownership of the copyright and the circumstance of the infringement, such warning or request shall be deemed not to have been made.
Where, after the copyright owner produces said proofs, the Internet service provider does not take the measures, the copyright owner may, before instituting legal proceedings, request the people's court for decision on cessation of the relevant act and for property/evidence preservation, and may, when instituting legal proceedings, request the people's court for its decision first on cessation of the infringement, removal of impediment and/or elimination of ill effect, and the people's court shall give the permission.

Article 9. Where any Internet service provider takes the measures, such as removal and elimination of the infringing information contents, upon the warning by the copyright owner based on solid evidence and where the accused infringer requests to hold the Internet service provider liable for breach of contract, the people's court shall not support such request.
Where the copyright owner's accusation of infringement is not based on facts and where the accused infringer claims for the damages because of injury it or he has suffered due to the measures taken by the Internet service provider, the people's court shall decide to order the person giving the warning to be liable the damages.