China’s First Two “Administrative Rulings” for “Significant” Patent Infringement Disputes—Protecting the Pharmaceutical Products of a Well-Known German Enterprise†

中国首批两起“重大”专利侵权纠纷“行政裁决”案件——知名德资企业药产品得到保护*

Digest | 文摘

On July 27, 2022, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (the “CNIPA”) rendered its first two “administrative rulings” (each of which has 30 pages) to resolve two “patent infringement disputes that have significant impact across the country”.  In the end, an invention patent of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG was protected, and two Chinese pharmaceutical companies were ordered to immediately stop manufacturing, selling, and offering to sell products that infringed the patent.  

The CNIPA’s authority to render these rulings is based on Article 70 Paragraph 1 of the Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China.  This provision was added to the law when it was amended in 2020.  The provision states: “The department of patent administration under the State Council [i.e., the CNIPA] may, at the request of a patentee or stakeholder, handle a patent infringement dispute that has significant impact across the country”.

From a patentee’s point of view, what are the pros and cons of using this avenue, instead of litigation, to protect one’s patent?  Who is considered an eligible “stakeholder” according to Article 70 Paragraph 1?

2022年7月27日，中国国家知识产权局作出其首批两个“行政裁决”（每份裁决共30页），以解决两起“在全国有重大影响的专利侵权纠纷”。裁决结果使勃林格殷格翰制药两合公司（Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG）所拥有的一项发明专利权得到保护，而两家中国药企被责令立即停止制造、销售及许诺销售侵犯该专利权的产品。

国家知识产权局作出上述裁决的职权是基于《中华人民共和国专利法》第七十条第一款。该法2020年修改时增加了该条款。它规定：“国务院专利行政部门[即：国家知识产权局]可以应专利权人或者利害关系人的请求处理在全国有重大影响的专利侵权纠纷”。

从专利权人的角度来看，使用这种途径而不是诉讼来保护专利有哪些利弊？谁有资格成为第七十条第一款所指的“利害关系人”？

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^† This piece was contributed by David Wei Zhao and edited by SINOTALKS.COM.

^* 此文章由赵炜提供，并由丝络谈™编辑。

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