On May 25, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Interim Measures for the Processing of Related Examination Businesses Regarding the Implementation of the Revised Patent Law. As the amended patent law has come into effect on June 1, 2021 and the implementation rules are still being revised, CNIPA issued these Interim Measures that have been effective  since June 1, 2021.  The Interim Measures cover design patent term, partial design examination, patent term adjustment, patent term extension, and other areas. The Interim Measures do not cover patent linkage.

Highlights include:

·       Applicants can submit partial designs starting June 1, 2021. However, CNIPA will not examine partial designs until the implementation rules are released.

·       Applicants can request for both patent term extensions (PTE) and patent term adjustments (PTA) for any patent application granted on or after June 1, 2021. The requests for PTA and PTE must be filed within 3 months of grant of patent or of drug marketing approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), respectively. CNIPA will examine the requests once the implementation rules are released.  

·       CNIPA will begin examining applications for good faith requirements (Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Patent Law) starting June 1, 2021.  

·       Design patent term is 15 years from filing only for design applications filed on or after June 1, 2021. 

The full text (Chinese only) is reproduced below and is available on the following link: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2021/5/25/art_74_159631.html