by Angel Luo

On 18 February 2019, China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”), formerly known as the State Intellectual Property Office of China (“SIPO”), announced that:

• Patent Re-examination Board (“PRB”) will be absorbed by Patent Office effective from 1 April 2019; and
• China Trademark Office of State Administration for Industry and Commerce (“CTMO”), Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (“TRAB”) and Corporation Center for Trademark Examination (“TECC”) will be combined into Trademark Office of China National Intellectual Property Administration (“TMO”) effective from 1 April 2019.

Effective from 1 April 2019, the examination of patent and trademark matters shall be conducted in the name of CNIPA.  The new official seal of CNIPA shall be put into use, so it will replace the previous seals of PRB, CTMO, TRAB and TECC.

For more details, please visit the CNIPA website at http://www.cnipa.gov.cn/zfgg/1135993.htm.

Note 1: The new/updated formality documents published on 1 March of 2019 are substantially the same as previous ones. The slight changes such as from CTMO/TRAB to CNIPA have not affected applicants’ execution so far.

Note 2: Given that the CTMO and TRAB have been incorporated into the CNIPA, the application and granting of trademarks, patents, layout designs of integrated circuits, and GIs is under the independent governance of the CNIPA. So after 1 April 2019, the CNIPA is the defendant/plaintiff in administrative lawsuits in relation to patent and trademark affirmation and authorization.