China forgoes late fees for patent annuities over COVID-19 worries
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration ( CNIPA) has announced it will not seek late fees for missed patent annuity payments, if the reason can be traced back to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic.
There will be no late fees to pay if the “delay in payment is due to the obstacle caused by the epidemic rather than the party’s own reasons”, according to the statement.
The change in policy is rooted in a need to “reduce the burden” on the parties affected by the epidemic, and reduce the pressure on public health authorities.
The new measures only apply if the patentee is in a location declared a ‘ level I’ health emergency, the highest level in China.
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report issued last month, as of late February 2020, a cumulative total of 75,465 COVID-19 cases were reported in China.
This development comes after a recent government announcement which stated that patentees and applicants will be allowed to “restore their patent rights without payment of a restoration right request fee”, if the loss of that right can be attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak. The restoration must, however, take place within two years.
The Chinese authorities have so far given no time frame for the suspension of late fees. It also remains unclear how these payment changes apply to patentees in foreign jurisdictions experiencing COVID-19 health emergencies, such as parts of South Korea.
Recent CNIPA figures revealed that patentees from Japan had filed the most foreign patent applications in China last year, reaching 49,000, while the US filed 39,000 applications, and Germany 16,000.
In terms of trademark filings, the US was in first position, with 54,000, a 5.3% increase on the previous year, while Japan filed 31,000, a 21% jump year-on-year. The UK came in third, with 24,000, an increase of 42%.
The CNIPA also announced that it will extend support for IP pledge financing to keep small businesses afloat during the coronavirus outbreak. The measure will see loans offered to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with IP rights pledged as collateral.
Find out more about the latest COVID-19 developments here.
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