China Alters Patent Laws

As one step toward entry into the World Trade Organization, China has changed some of its patent laws to bring it closer to compliance with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement).

New provisions that took effect July 1 include a shift in the burden of proof of infringement to the defendant and a mechanism for asking a judge to stop the infringement ("injunctive relief").

Legal experts say that China's patent law does not yet comply with the TRIPS Agreement in terms of defining inventions that can win patents and, more importantly for US companies, enforcing the rules.