What is the National Intellectual Property Administration? National Intellectual Property Administration Review

The National Intellectual Property Administration is mainly responsible for protecting intellectual property rights, promoting the construction of the intellectual property protection system, and is responsible for the registration and administrative adjudication of trademarks, patents, and geographical indications of origin, as well as guiding trademark and patent law enforcement work.

Development process

In March 1978, Hua Guofeng, Chairman of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, instructed that "the State Science and Technology Commission should unify the management of patent work". It was made clear that the patent work to be carried out in China would be managed by the State Science and Technology Commission, and specifically undertaken by the State Science and Technology Commission's Achievement Bureau, whose director Song Yonglin was a science and technology counselor who had just been transferred from the China Institute of Metrology to the Chinese Embassy in Japan, and the deputy director of the State Science and Technology Commission, Wu Heng, would be in charge.

On January 14, 1980, the State Council issued Document No. 10 of the State Council (Guofa [1980]) to approve the State Science and Technology Commission's "Request Report on the Establishment of a Patent System in my country". According to the instructions, on the same day, the State Science and Technology Commission established the Patent Office of the People's Republic of China, and Wu Heng, deputy director of the State Science and Technology Commission, concurrently served as director. The Patent Office of China was managed by the State Science and Technology Commission. In May 1980, the Patent Office of China moved to the Wangfujing Peace Hotel and began to work independently. Huang Kunyi, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the State Science and Technology Commission, served as the second director of the Patent Office and secretary of the Party Committee (May 1982-September 1987). On March 12, 1984, the Fourth Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress passed the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China.

On March 14, 1994, in accordance with the State Council institutional reform plan approved by the first session of the Eighth National People's Congress and the "Notice on the Establishment of the State Council Institutions" (Guofa [1993] No. 25), the Patent Office of the People's Republic of China was changed into a public institution directly under the State Council and, with the authorization of the State Council, continued to assume the government administrative management function for national patent work.

In 1998, in response to the institutional reform of the State Council, the State Intellectual Property Office was adjusted and reorganized as a direct agency of the State Council. The Patent Office of China was changed to a directly affiliated institution of the State Intellectual Property Office and renamed the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office. The Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office consists of the General Office, Personnel and Education Department, Examination Business Management Department, Automation Department, Party Committee, Preliminary Examination and Process Management Department, Mechanical Invention Examination Department, Electrical Invention Examination Department, Communication Invention Examination Department, Pharmaceutical and Biological Invention Examination Department, Chemical Invention Examination Department, Optoelectronic Technology Invention Examination Department, Materials Engineering Invention Examination Department, Utility Model Examination Department, Design Examination Department, and Patent Documentation Department; at the same time, the Patent Reexamination Board of the Patent Office of China was renamed the Patent Reexamination Board of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office. In 2001, the Patent Reexamination Board of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office was renamed the Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office, and it is still a directly affiliated institution of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office.

At the end of 2003, the Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office was approved to become a directly affiliated institution of the State Intellectual Property Office with independent legal personality. The Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office consists of the Office, the Party Committee (Disciplinary Committee) Office, the Personnel and Education Department, the Examination Business Coordination Department, the Research Department, the Quality Assurance Department, the Informatization Department, the Case Filing and Process Management Department, the First Machinery Appeal Department, the Second Machinery Appeal Department, the Transportation Equipment Appeal Department, the First Electrical Appeal Department, the Second Electrical Appeal Department, the Information Technology Application Appeal Department, the First Communications Appeal Department, the Second Communications Appeal Department, the Mobile Communications Technology Appeal Department, the First Pharmaceutical and Biological Appeal Department, the Second Pharmaceutical and Biological Appeal Department, the First Chemical Appeal Department, the Second Chemical Appeal Department, the First Optoelectronic Technology Appeal Department, the Second Optoelectronic Technology Appeal Department, the First Material Engineering Appeal Department, the Second Material Engineering Appeal Department, the Utility Model Appeal Department, the First Design Appeal Department, the Second Design Appeal Department, the Third Design Appeal Department, the First Administrative Litigation Department, and the Second Administrative Litigation Department.

On March 17, 2018, the first session of the 13th National People's Congress passed the "Decision of the First Session of the 13th National People's Congress on the Reform Plan of the State Council Institutions", approving the "Reform Plan of the State Council Institutions". The plan stipulates: "Reorganize the National Intellectual Property Administration. Integrate the responsibilities of the National Intellectual Property Administration, the trademark management responsibilities of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the geographical indication management responsibilities of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and reorganize the National Intellectual Property Administration, which will be managed by the State Administration for Market Regulation." At the same time, the trademark and patent law enforcement responsibilities originally belonging to the Intellectual Property Administration will be handed over to the comprehensive market supervision law enforcement team.

Responsibilities

According to the Regulations on the Function Allocation, Internal Organization and Staffing of the National Intellectual Property Administration, the National Intellectual Property Administration shall assume the following responsibilities:

1. Responsible for formulating and organizing the implementation of the national intellectual property strategy. Formulate major policies and development plans for strengthening the construction of a strong intellectual property country. Formulate and implement management policies and systems to strengthen the creation, protection and use of intellectual property.

2. Responsible for protecting intellectual property rights. Formulate and organize the implementation of intellectual property systems that strictly protect trademarks, patents, geographical indications of origin, integrated circuit layout designs, etc. Organize the drafting of relevant laws and regulations, formulate departmental regulations, and supervise their implementation. Study intellectual property protection, management and service policies that encourage innovation in new fields, new formats and new models. Study and propose plans for the construction of an intellectual property protection system and organize their implementation, and promote the construction of an intellectual property protection system. Responsible for guiding trademark and patent law enforcement, guiding local intellectual property dispute resolution, rights protection assistance and dispute mediation.

3. Responsible for promoting the use of intellectual property. Formulate policies for the use of intellectual property and standardize transactions, and promote the transfer and transformation of intellectual property. Standardize the evaluation of intellectual property intangible assets. Responsible for patent compulsory licensing related work. Formulate policy measures for the development and supervision of intellectual property intermediary services.

4. Responsible for the examination, registration and administrative adjudication of intellectual property rights. Implement trademark registration, patent examination and integrated circuit layout design registration. Responsible for administrative adjudication such as trademark, patent and integrated circuit layout design review and invalidation. Formulate a unified recognition system for geographical indications of origin and organize its implementation.

5. Responsible for establishing a public service system for intellectual property rights. Build a national public service platform for intellectual property information that is convenient for enterprises and the public and interconnected, and promote the dissemination and use of intellectual property information such as trademarks and patents.

6. Responsible for coordinating foreign-related intellectual property matters. Formulate policies for foreign-related intellectual property work, conduct foreign intellectual property negotiations according to the division of labor. Carry out international liaison, cooperation and exchange activities for intellectual property work.

7. Complete other tasks assigned by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

Organizational Structure

According to the Provisions on the Function Allocation, Internal Organization and Staffing of the National Intellectual Property Administration, the internal organizations of the National Intellectual Property Administration are at the deputy department level. The National Intellectual Property Administration has the following organizations:

Internal Organization

• office

• Legal Affairs Department

• Strategic Planning Department

• Intellectual Property Protection Department

• Intellectual Property Utilization Promotion Department

• Public Service Department

• International Cooperation Department (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Office)

• Personnel Department

• Party Committee

Directly affiliated institutions

• Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (vice-ministerial level)

• Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (at the department level)

• National Intellectual Property Administration Service Center

• China Intellectual Property News

• China Patent Information Center

• China Intellectual Property Training Center

• Intellectual Property Development Research Center of the State Intellectual Property Office

• Patent Search and Consultation Center of the State Intellectual Property Office

• Patent Examination Cooperation Beijing Center of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (managed by the Patent Office)

• Patent Examination Cooperation Jiangsu Center of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (Managed by the Patent Office)

• Patent Examination Cooperation Guangdong Center of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (managed by the Patent Office)

• Patent Examination Cooperation Center of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office Henan (Managed by the Patent Office)

• Patent Examination Cooperation Hubei Center of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (managed by the Patent Office)

• Patent Examination Cooperation Center of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office Tianjin (Managed by the Patent Office)

• Patent Examination Cooperation Sichuan Center of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (managed by the Patent Office)

Directly affiliated enterprise units

• Intellectual Property Publishing Co., Ltd.

• China Patent Technology Development Company (Managed by the Patent Office)

Responsible social groups

• China Intellectual Property Research Association

• All-China Patent Agents Association