China's legislature approved a revision of the country's Patent Law on December 29, 2008, claiming that the improvements will better protect the rights of patent holders due to more detailed and specific patent protection measures.
One of the important revisions to the Patent Law involved the adoption of the so-called "absolute novelty" standard that is applied internationally. Under this standard, patent examiners are required to consider public use evidence both inside and outside China when processing patent applications.
Further revisions included allowing several designs to apply to a patent, as long as the patent is owned by the same owner. Design patent regulations will also become stricter; for example designs such as soft drink bottles or wine labels will no longer be awarded protection. Furthermore, Chinese nationals will no longer have to file a patent application in China prior to filing for protection abroad.
Additionally, the amendment raised the penalty and damage payments in cases of patent infringement. The penalty was raised to 400 percent from 300 percent of the illicit profits, while the damage payment went up from RMB50,000 to RMB200,000 even if there was no profit from infringement. The courts may also fine the infringer between RMB10,000 to RMB1M in compensation when the damage cannot specifically identified.
