China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) (国家知识产权局) | Practical Law

China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) (国家知识产权局) | Practical Law

China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) (国家知识产权局)
Glossary

China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) (国家知识产权局)

A government institution managed by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), formerly named as the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and renamed to the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on 28 August 2018.
The CNIPA is responsible for matters including:
  • Organising the implementation of national IPR strategies, especially strengthening IPR creation, protection and utilisation.
  • Protecting IPRs and promoting the construction of IPR protection systems.
  • Registering trade marks, patents and geographical indications and making relevant administrative adjudication.
  • Guiding trade mark and patent law enforcement.
  • Co-ordinating foreign-related IP affairs.
(See CNIPA website.)
The CNIPA assumes the duties formerly performed by the following agencies, all of which have been eliminated:
The TMO, TRAB and TECC have been reorganised as a new Trademark Office under the CNIPA. The PRB has been merged into the CNIPA's Patent Office as a sub-division, namely, the Re-examination and Invalidation Department of the Patent Office (专利局复审和无效审理部).
The CNIPA has been reorganised under China's massive government institutional reform since 2018 (see Practice note, Understanding the 2018 government institutional reform: China: Restructuring IP regulator).