Guo Zhi Shipping Letter No.178 [2021].
Intellectual Property Offices of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
According to the "Notice of China National Intellectual Property Administration on Deepening the" Blue Sky "Special Rectification Action" (Guo Zhi Shipping Letter No.32 [2021]), local organizations have carried out the work of cracking down on abnormal patent application agencies and achieved positive results. Our bureau found in the patent application quality monitoring and special investigation that there are still some agencies that continue to engage in abnormal patent application agency behavior. In order to further intensify the crackdown and standardize the normal order of patent application, the relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:
First, effectively increase the intensity of investigation and handling.
Our bureau is organizing a "blue sky" campaign, which will punish a group of patent agencies that have a large number of abnormal patent applications and are suspected of fabricating patents by stopping undertaking new business until their practice licenses are revoked. At present, they have entered the stage of informing before punishment. All localities should, according to the notification information about the abnormal patent application agency behavior, investigate and deal with the cases under the key supervision of our bureau and the agencies that repeatedly represent abnormal patent applications as soon as possible according to law, and severely punish them; If the circumstances are serious, it may be reported to our bureau to stop accepting its relevant agency business or revoke its patent agency qualification.
Second, strictly implement collaborative governance measures
Our bureau will determine a list of institutions that need collaborative governance according to the number of abnormal patent applications and relevant circumstances, and forward it to the intellectual property offices of relevant provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) (the list of institutions will be forwarded separately). All localities should implement strict cooperative restrictive measures in all kinds of incentive and reward policies and project support, evaluation of institutions and individuals, screening of participating units in various activities, and recommendation of relevant experts and talents. At the same time, all localities should guide local enterprises with intellectual property advantages and demonstration enterprises to carefully select and optimize patent agencies.
Three, crack down on unqualified patent agencies related behavior.
Our bureau will continue to strengthen the screening and monitoring of big data, lock in clues that unqualified institutions engage in abnormal patent applications, and promptly hand them over to the intellectual property offices of relevant provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) for investigation. All localities should intensify their efforts to crack down on unauthorized patent agency business, investigate and deal with it strictly and quickly, and its abnormal patent application behavior should be regarded as a heavier circumstance and given a heavier punishment.
Four, strengthen the key supervision of the per capita patent agency is obviously too high.
In the early stage, our bureau has forwarded to the Intellectual Property Offices of the relevant provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) the list of institutions with an obviously high per capita agent volume, and asked all localities to be included in the key supervision objects as required, and conduct on-site inspections and key inspections in the "double random and one open" inspection to increase the frequency of inspections. If it is found that they are engaged in abnormal patent applications, leasing and lending patent agency qualifications, they will be severely punished according to law. Our bureau will continue to pay attention to the agencies whose per capita agent volume is obviously too high and whose agent volume growth rate is obviously abnormal, and timely transfer them to the intellectual property offices of relevant provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) for key supervision.
Five, give full play to the role of industry organizations
Local patent agency industry organizations should give full play to the role of industry self-discipline, strengthen the self-discipline and punishment of acting as agents for abnormal patent applications, organize local activities of "promoting integrity and improving quality", cooperate with the establishment of industry voluntary supervision mechanism, strengthen special business training and policy propaganda, and guide local patent agencies and patent agents to consciously resist abnormal patent applications.
Six, strengthen the agency supervision work assessment.
Our bureau has incorporated the work of cracking down on the abnormal patent application and agency supervision into the assessment of local intellectual property protection this year, and will evaluate the progress and quality of cases transferred and supervised by our bureau in various places. At the same time, we will dispatch professionals to relevant places to conduct on-site supervision of key cases. All localities should further increase their attention, strengthen the allocation of agency supervision power, fully perform their supervisory duties, comprehensively strengthen agency supervision, resolutely curb the agency’s abnormal patent application behavior, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the agency industry.
All localities are requested to submit the requirements of this notice and the development of this year’s "Blue Sky" special action to our Intellectual Property Promotion Division before December 15, 2021.
I hereby inform you.
China National Intellectual Property Administration
November 8, 2021