The State Council's regulations on the settlement of foreign-related intellectual property disputes will take effect on May 1

Premier Li Qiang of the State Council recently signed a State Council Decree promulgating the Provisions of the State Council on the Handling of Foreign-Related Intellectual Property Disputes (hereinafter referred to as the “Provisions”) which will come into effect on May 1, 2025. The Provisions consist of a total of 18 articles and focus primarily on the following areas:

1. Improving the Dispute Resolution Service Mechanism:

The Provisions clarify that relevant departments under the State Council shall enhance services for accessing foreign intellectual property information and issuing early warnings. They shall also establish and improve the institutional framework and working procedures for guiding the handling of foreign-related IP disputes, thereby providing support in dispute resolution and rights protection.

2. Regulating Overseas Evidence Collection Requirements:

The service of legal documents and evidence collection conducted within China must comply with applicable international treaties to which China is a party, as well as with Chinese laws. When providing evidence or materials to parties outside China, relevant laws and administrative regulations on state secrets protection and data security must be observed. Where prior approval by a competent authority is legally required, such procedures must be duly completed.

3. Clarifying Countermeasures Against Unfair Treatment:

Where foreign entities fail to provide national treatment to Chinese individuals or organizations, or fail to offer adequate and effective IP protection, the Ministry of Commerce may conduct investigations and adopt necessary measures in accordance with the law. In cases where foreign countries use IP disputes as a pretext to suppress or contain China, or impose discriminatory restrictions on Chinese individuals or organizations, the relevant departments under the State Council may lawfully adopt corresponding countermeasures and restrictive measures.

ZLWD Commentary：

The new State Council regulations directly confront the complexities of international intellectual property (IP) disputes by constructing a service + defense + countermeasure framework as China’s strategic response. The rules strengthen corporate rights protection mechanisms and cross-border evidence security for the first time, a clear legal basis to counter discriminatory measures. This sends a strong message against the West’s misuse of IP regimes to suppress Chinese enterprises.

However, implementation must strike a prudent balance: avoiding conflict with cross-border investigation norms and Western data regulations on one hand, and preventing excessive retaliation that could escalate friction on the other. Overall, the regulation signals China’s shift from passive adaptation to proactive rulemaking in global IP governance. Its true test lies ahead—in the nuance and wisdom of execution.

The Measures for the Implementation of the Regulations on Fair Competition Review will take effect on April 20, 2025

To better support the construction of a unified national market and promote standardized government behavior, the State Administration for Market Regulation has issued the "Implementation Measures for the Fair Competition Review Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), which will take effect on April 20,2025. The Measures clarify the scope of application and departmental responsibilities for fair competition reviews, focusing on refining the standards for such reviews. 

They outline 66 review criteria in areas where administrative power is likely to be misused to interfere with the market, such as restricted access, designated transactions, key support, and selective subsidies. The Measures also set clear red lines and improve channels for supervising fair competition reviews, ensuring that these reviews are subject to random checks and supervision through various means.

ZLWD Commentary：

The introduction of the "Measures for the Implementation of the Fair Competition Review Regulations" marks China's entry into a phase of refined governance in combating administrative monopolies. By concretizing review criteria into 66 items on a "negative list," it directly targets persistent issues such as local protectionism and designated transactions, essentially using rigid rules to constrain the government's "visible hand" from overstepping boundaries. Compared to general principles, quantified review indicators can more effectively curb hidden market barriers like selective subsidies and discriminatory access, providing an operational manual for building a unified national market.

Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court issued Guidelines on the Management and Protection of Business Secrets of Enterprises

On April 9, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, in conjunction with the Qianhai Administration and the China (Shenzhen) Intellectual Property Protection Center, held a series of events at the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Dream Factory to release the "Guidelines for Corporate Trade Secret Management and Rights Protection" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") and the top ten typical cases of intellectual property rights in Shenzhen courts for 2024. 

The Guidelines summarize and refine common issues in trade secret disputes from judicial practice, reconstruct scenarios of corporate leaks identified in cases, and offer practical suggestions to help companies build scenario-based prevention matrices, establish dynamic governance mechanisms, improve the entire chain of rights protection systems, and comprehensively enhance their ability to independently protect trade secrets.

ZLWD Commentary：

The Guidelines on Trade Secret Management and Rights Protection for Enterprises issued by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court exemplify how local judiciary can proactively respond to core business needs. As a national hub for technological innovation, Shenzhen pioneers a model of “scenario-based prevention + full-chain enforcement”, translating judicial experience into actionable governance tools for enterprises.

Notably, the guidelines bridge the gap between principle and practice by reconstructing real-world leakage scenarios and offering illustrative case studies - addressing the long-standing challenge of “easy to understand, hard to implement”in trade secret protection. This initiative not only enhances the alignment between judicial adjudication and corporate compliance but also reflects a broader shift in local judicial functions - from post-incident remedies to proactive risk prevention.

The Supreme People's Court released the main data of judicial trials in the first quarter of 2025

The Supreme People's Court has released the main data on judicial trial work for the first quarter of 2025. In terms of intellectual property, in the first quarter of 2025, 165,000 civil first-instance cases involving intellectual property were accepted, a year-on-year increase of 45.60%; 12,000 administrative first-instance cases concerning trademark and patent authorization were accepted, up 84.03% year-on-year. The Supreme People's Court has increased coordination and communication with the National Intellectual Property Administration, guiding relevant courts to improve case handling efficiency and continuously enhancing the effectiveness of intellectual property judicial protection.

ZLWD Commentary：

The judicial trial data published by the Supreme People's Court vividly illustrates the explosive growth of intellectual property disputes in our country. Civil and administrative cases surged by over 45% and 84% year-on-year, reflecting both the awakening of market entities' rights protection awareness and the reality of rampant infringement under intensified commercial competition. The surge in administrative confirmation cases reveals institutional frictions in the authorization and confirmation of patents and trademarks, possibly due to lagging standards in emerging technology fields. It is worth noting that the Supreme People's Court has strengthened collaboration with administrative agencies, promoting improvements in trial quality and efficiency, indicating a shift from "incremental response" to "quality enhancement."

In 2025, the pilot work of deepening trademark agency credit evaluation management will be carried out in 14 provinces and cities including Beijing and Shanghai

From April 2025 to March 2026, the National Intellectual Property Administration will conduct credit evaluations and management of trademark agencies (including branches) and their trademark agency practitioners in 14 provinces or municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong. Credit information for trademark agencies will be collected starting from April 1, 2025, with the evaluation scores to be published on September 1, 2025.

According to the "Guidelines for the Pilot Management of Trademark Agency Credit Evaluation," credit evaluations are divided into four levels: ABCD, with a full score of 100 points. Points will be deducted when encountering negative information such as non-compliant operations or agency behaviors, administrative or criminal penalties, and industry punishments. The National Intellectual Property Administration and regional intellectual property management departments will take different measures for agencies with different ratings. 

For example, agencies rated A and above can have their routine inspection frequencies reduced and receive priority consideration in relevant projects of the intellectual property department; whereas D-rated agencies will be listed as key regulatory targets and will face strict restrictions on applying for various preferential policies, fiscal funds, awards, participation in official activities, and recommendations for experts and talents.

ZLWD Commentary：

The trademark agency credit evaluation pilot program launched by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) represents a targeted response to long-standing disorder within the trademark agency industry, aiming to reshape the sector through a “credit profile”- based approach. By introducing a four-tiered ABCD scoring system and differentiated regulatory measures, the program establishes an incentive framework that rewards compliance and penalizes misconduct, thereby compelling agencies to self-regulate.

The key innovation lies in translating the abstract notion of “credit”into an actionable, dynamic rating mechanism. Notably, practices such as trademark hoarding, bad-faith registration, and misleading promotion are explicitly designated as point deductions, striking at the core of malicious filings and profit-driven litigation abuse. This marks a shift toward more precise, data-driven governance in China’s trademark system.

The pilot project of the "China-Hungary Liaison Mechanism" jointly launched by the China Intellectual Property Office and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office has been officially implemented since April 1

Intellectual Property Administration and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office have agreed to jointly launch a pilot project of the "China-Hungary Liaison Officer Mechanism." The project will last for one year and will be implemented starting from April 1, 2025.

According to the report, the Chinese and Hungarian bureaus will each designate an intellectual property liaison officer to provide consulting services on intellectual property issues related to Chinese enterprises operating in Hungary and Hungarian enterprises operating in China, so as to support enterprises of the two countries to obtain effective intellectual property protection.

ZLWD Commentary：

The establishment of a China-Hungary intellectual property (IP) liaison mechanism marks a significant step in advancing Belt and Road IP cooperation toward greater service orientation and operational precision. By appointing dedicated liaisons, this mechanism breaks through cross-border enforcement bottlenecks and brings traditional government-to-government cooperation down to the enterprise level-effectively reducing information asymmetry and the compliance burden for businesses engaged in cross-border IP protection.

Its value lies not only in creating a “protective corridor” for China-Hungary economic and trade cooperation, but also in pioneering a standardized model for bilateral public IP services. Through a lightweight structure characterized by dedicated contacts and rapid response, the mechanism addresses key challenges of cross-border IP enforcement-namely, long timelines and complex procedures.

The People's Government of Pudong New Area, Shanghai issued the Provisions on Promoting the Use of Intellectual Property Rights in Pudong New Area

On March 28,2025, the Pudong New Area People's Government, to promote the effective use of intellectual property rights, encourage technological innovation, accelerate the development of new productive forces, and drive high-quality economic and social development, issued the "Several Provisions on Promoting the Use of Intellectual Property Rights in Pudong New Area" based on the Decision of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on Strengthening Legal Guarantees for High-Level Reform and Opening-up in Pudong New Area and other relevant regulations, taking into account the actual conditions of Pudong New Area.

ZLWD Commentary：

Pudong New Area has taken the lead in introducing special regulations for intellectual property utilization, highlighting the governance leap from "protection" to "value conversion" in local reforms.

As the first local regulation focusing on intellectual property utilization nationwide, its core value lies in addressing the long-standing issue of overemphasis on rights confirmation at the expense of operations.

Through institutional innovation, it aims to unlock the industrial potential of intangible assets such as patents and trademarks, potentially involving cutting-edge explorations like intellectual property securitization and cross-border transaction pilots. If this policy can be integrated with financial reforms in the free trade zone, it may facilitate a closed loop of "technology-capital-industry," providing institutional fuel for nurturing new productive forces.