TYGlobe

Content Interpretation

The Opinions on Further Improving the Business Environment in the Intellectual Property Sector, jointly issued by seven departments including the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), focuses on market-oriented, law-based, internationalized and facilitation-oriented reforms. It aims to stimulate innovation vitality and improve service efficiency through systematic policy innovation, so as to provide institutional support for high-quality development. Centering on enhancing the industry-university-research collaborative innovation capacity, the Opinions expands the autonomy of universities and research institutes in the disposal of intellectual property rights and improves the income distribution mechanism to promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Meanwhile, it promotes the standardized development of the intellectual property service industry, delegates patent agency supervision authority to the city level, establishes a credit evaluation system and cracks down on vicious low-price competition, so as to strengthen primary-level supervision and maintain the sound ecology of the industry. In terms of the market-oriented transaction mechanism, the Opinions proposes improving value evaluation standards, promoting pilot programs of intellectual property pledge financing, encouraging innovation of financial products, and accelerating the construction of a unified trading market to improve asset liquidity. On the aspect of rule of law guarantee, the Opinions prioritizes the revision of the Trademark Law to curb malicious trademark squatting, explores rules for the protection of data intellectual property rights, and improves the efficiency of right confirmation by optimizing patent and trademark examination modes (such as priority examination and rapid examination of figurative trademarks). In terms of international cooperation, the Opinions deepens cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, promotes the sharing of examination information and the construction of an overseas rights protection assistance mechanism, to help enterprises address cross-border disputes. In addition, the Opinions clarifies the targets for 2027, requiring that the convenience level of government services be significantly improved: the examination cycle for patent modification will be shortened to 1 month, the examination period for trademark assignment will be shortened to within 40 days, and the notification and commitment system will be fully implemented to reduce institutional transaction costs. These measures systematically integrate innovation incentives, industry supervision, improvement of the rule of law and international coordination, building a full-chain, multi-dimensional intellectual property protection and utilization ecology for market entities.

2. Original Text of the Policy

Opinions of the National Intellectual Property Administration, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Administration of Financial Regulation, the National Copyright Administration and the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Further Optimizing the Business Environment in the Field of Intellectual Property

China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) Public Service Document 〔2025〕 No. 5

To the competent departments of intellectual property, education, science and technology, market regulation and copyright of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, all regulatory bureaus of the State Administration of Financial Regulation, and all units affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences:

This Opinion is hereby formulated for the purposes of thoroughly implementing the decisions and arrangements of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on improving the business environment as well as the overall requirements for intellectual property rights work, promptly responding to the expectations of the general public and business entities, continuously reducing institutional transaction costs, further strengthening policy support and service guarantees for business entities, helping foster a world-class business environment, and better promoting high-quality development.

I. General Requirements

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we adhere to the combination of problem-oriented and goal-oriented approaches, follow the two-wheel drive of institutional innovation and digital empowerment, and promote coordinated efforts between online and offline channels. We benchmark against advanced international practices, take the fostering of a first-class business environment as the main thread, and advance the development of a market-oriented, law-based, internationalized and facilitating business environment in the field of intellectual property rights. Focusing on the needs of innovative development and the concerns of business entities, we will further optimize the business environment in the intellectual property sector, give better play to the institutional role of intellectual property rights in incentivizing domestic innovation and promoting external opening-up, and fully stimulate the endogenous impetus and vitality of innovation and creativity of all types of entities.

By 2027, the market-oriented, law-based, internationalized and facilitating level of the business environment in China's intellectual property (IP) sector will be significantly improved. The quality of IP creation, efficiency of IP utilization, effectiveness of IP protection, IP management capacity and IP service capability will be enhanced on all fronts. IP-related government services will be further optimized, and the satisfaction and sense of fulfillment of enterprises and the general public when handling relevant affairs will continue to grow. The role of the business environment in the IP sector in driving high-quality development will become even more prominent.

II. Improve the market-based mechanism for intellectual property rights to facilitate the development of a high-standard market system

(I) Improve the intellectual property rights (IPR) innovation incentive mechanism. We will improve the distribution system oriented towards increasing the value of knowledge, expand the autonomy of universities and research institutes in IPR disposal through such means as transfer, licensing or investment at appraised value, and promote the realization of IPR value. We will strengthen standardized management of service inventions, deepen the empowerment reform for job-related scientific and technological achievements, improve the IPR income distribution mechanism featuring matched rights and obligations for employing units, scientific researchers, technology transfer institutions and other relevant parties, and improve the due diligence exemption and fault-tolerance mechanism for patent commercialization. We will promote in-depth integration of industry, academia and research, step up guidance on the formulation of IPR-related clauses in industry-university-research cooperation agreements, and guide all parties to reasonably stipulate matters including the organizational form of cooperation, division of tasks, capital input, IPR ownership, distribution of rights and interests, risk sharing and liability for breach of contract. We will support universities and research institutions in establishing IPR management funds and operation funds. (The Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the National Intellectual Property Administration, the National Copyright Administration and the Chinese Academy of Sciences shall be responsible for the relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

(II) Promote the sound and orderly development of the intellectual property service industry. We will actively advance the entrusted supervision of patent agencies, delegate the supervision functions over provincial-level patent agencies to city-level authorities (districts of municipalities directly under the Central Government) for implementation, and strengthen primary-level supervision capacity. We will carry out in-depth credit evaluation for patent and trademark agencies, and disclose the evaluation results of agencies and their practitioners to the public in a timely manner, to provide guidance for enterprises and the general public in selecting agencies. We will strengthen standardized management of the copyright agency industry. We will, in accordance with laws and regulations, intensify administrative law enforcement, credit supervision and punishment for dishonesty targeting illegal and irregular intellectual property agency practices. We will improve self-discipline rules related to intellectual property agencies, strictly restrict acts disrupting market order such as vicious low-price competition and improper promises, to maintain a sound industry ecosystem. (The State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties.)

(III) Improve the market-oriented pricing and transaction mechanisms for intellectual property rights (IPR). Improve the standards for IPR value assessment, continuously release statistical data on patent exploitation licensing and copyright registration, and guide patentees to calculate licensing fees in a scientific, fair and reasonable manner. Carry out pilots on internal assessment of IPR pledge financing for banks, and guide financial institutions to improve their independent assessment capabilities. Encourage innovation in financial products such as IPR insurance and credit guarantee, and give full play to the role of financial support in IPR transformation. Accelerate the establishment and improvement of the IPR trading market, improve the liquidity of IPR assets and the convenience of their disposal, and promote standardized IPR transactions. (The State Administration of Financial Regulation, the National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for the relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

(IV) Strengthen Collaborative Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Intensify the protection of original innovation of micro, small and medium-sized private enterprises in China. Strengthen administrative law enforcement for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, and crack down on IPR infringement acts in accordance with the law. Improve the IPR administrative adjudication linkage mechanisms covering case transfer, investigation assistance, service and execution of IPR administrative adjudication cases, the rapid IPR infringement handling mechanism, as well as the rapid collaborative protection mechanism for central-local cooperation. Improve the IPR credit supervision system, standardize the criteria and procedures for the recognition of the list of seriously discredited entities in the IPR field, and impose penalties on such entities in accordance with laws and regulations. Relying on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, strengthen the collection and public disclosure of information including trademarks, patents, IPR pledge registration, enterprise-related administrative licenses and administrative penalties. Strengthen anti-monopoly supervision and law enforcement, prevent and stop acts of abusing IPR to eliminate or restrict competition, safeguard fair market competition and promote innovative development. (The State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties.)

(V) Promoting Collaborative Innovation of Standards and Patents. Strengthen the linkage between patent examination and standard formulation, formulate and promote policy guidelines on patents involved in standards, and guide innovation entities to integrate their independent intellectual property rights into technical standards. Formulate licensing guidelines for standard-essential patents (SEPs), promote the fair and reasonable licensing and utilization of SEPs, and prevent enterprises from carrying out monopolistic conducts by exploiting SEPs. Establish a special thematic database for SEPs, and unblock channels for access to SEP-related information. (The State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Intellectual Property Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

III. Strengthen the Rule of Law Protection for Intellectual Property Rights to Better Support Comprehensive Innovation

(VI) Improve laws and regulations on intellectual property rights. Accelerate the research and argumentation for the revision of the new round of the Trademark Law and its Implementing Regulations, strengthen the obligation of trademark use, and further tighten regulation over acts such as bad-faith trademark registration. Speed up the revision of supporting regulations for the Copyright Law. Improve regulations on layout designs of integrated circuits. Promote special legislation on geographical indications, and refine a unified geographical indication protection system featuring coordination between special protection and trademark protection. Provide guidance for strengthening the development of the local intellectual property regulation system. (The National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

(7) Improve intellectual property (IP) protection rules for emerging sectors. Promote research on IP protection rules for cutting-edge technology sectors and other relevant work, and deliver sound IP protection in emerging sectors. Carry out in-depth pilot programs for data IP work, and accelerate the formulation of data IP protection rules. Explore and improve open-source standards and specifications, conduct research and formulate compliance standards for open-source IP in information technology as well as standards for code contribution rules in open-source communities, so as to raise the level of open-source IP protection. (The National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for the aforesaid work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

(8) Innovate the diversified examination modes for patents and trademarks. We will comprehensively apply multiple examination modes including priority examination to serve the breakthrough of key core technologies. In light of regional development needs and demands of local key industries, we will further expand the pre-examination scope of local Intellectual Property Protection Centers, to better meet the pre-examination needs of innovation entities for rapid patent right confirmation. We will optimize the rapid examination mode for trademark registration applications, allow rapid examination of figurative trademarks, and improve the implementation of priority examination and rulings in such links as trademark review against refusal and opposition applications, so as to better support parties to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests promptly. We will accelerate the establishment of a collaborative evaluation mechanism for trademark examination, and continuously improve examination quality and efficiency. (Responsible by the China National Intellectual Property Administration)

(IX) Improve the rules for patent and trademark examination. Issue the *Patent Application Guidelines* and typical cases of abnormal patent applications to guide the improvement of patent quality. Improve the agency quality monitoring and trigger-based supervision mechanisms centered on the rectification of abnormal patent applications, so as to deliver targeted crackdowns and targeted policy implementation. Promote the establishment of a dispute resolution mechanism for conflicts between enterprise trade names, abbreviations and trademark rights, and intensify regulation efforts. On the premise of ensuring data security, promote the sharing and application of patent information, trademark information and business entity information, deepen the business collaboration between trademark examination and business entity registration, explore the establishment of a marking and disposal mechanism for registered trademarks with extinct right holders, release trademark registration resources in a timely manner, and help address the difficulty in trademark registration. (To be responsible by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Intellectual Property Administration in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

(10) Improving the institutions and mechanisms for copyright registration. We will promote the establishment of a unified national copyright registration system across China, and further standardize work including work registration, copyright registration of computer software, copyright pledge registration, registration of foreign-related copyright contracts, and record-filing of exclusive copyright license contracts and copyright assignment contracts. We will refine copyright registration standards, conduct research on the development of an information-based copyright data service platform, improve the digitalization level of copyright registration, gradually realize online handling of copyright registration, improve systems for public notice and inquiry of copyright registration, data submission, statistical analysis and other relevant work, and promote the integration of copyright registration, inquiry, monitoring and rights protection, so as to provide higher-quality and more convenient services for the development of relevant industries. (Responsible by the National Copyright Administration of China)

IV. Improve the Internationalization Level of Intellectual Property Services and Effectively Promote Opening-up

(11) Deepening International Exchanges in the Public Service Sector We will continue to strengthen cooperation with intellectual property examination authorities of all countries, and deepen the sharing of examination information. We will advance cooperation on intellectual property information and data resource projects with countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. We will support qualified Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) in carrying out international exchanges for intellectual property information public services. High-level foreign institutions are encouraged to provide intellectual property services in China. We will deepen international cooperation on geographical indications, encourage research on foreign language versions of standards related to geographical indications, and enhance the international influence of China's geographical indication brands. We will guide and support Chinese enterprises in increasing the added value and competitiveness of their trademark brands, improving their capacity for international operation of trademark brands, and building a positive image of Chinese trademark brands. We will continue to strengthen cooperation with copyright authorities of all countries to enhance China's influence and discourse power in the copyright field. (The National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with the division of their respective functions and duties.)

(XII) Strengthen guidance on response to overseas intellectual property right (IPR) disputes. Encourage local authorities to plan and set up IPR work guidance stations in countries and regions with intensive trade exchanges. Relying on the sub-centers for guidance on response to overseas IPR disputes, provide enterprises with professional and efficient guidance services on overseas dispute response. Compile directories of key export enterprises by industry, and scale up IPR rights protection assistance efforts. Support insurance institutions in developing and launching more overseas IPR insurance products, and promote the establishment of an overseas IPR rights protection assistance fund to help enterprises reduce rights protection costs. Timely collect and release information on foreign IPR legal systems, build a database of foreign IPR litigation cases, conduct research and analysis on typical cases, so as to provide information support for enterprises to respond to foreign-related IPR disputes. Step up efforts to cultivate foreign-related IPR legal service institutions, strengthen the development of the contingent of foreign-related IPR legal professionals, and improve the professionalism and pertinence of guidance for enterprises on overseas dispute response. (The State Administration of Financial Regulation, the National Intellectual Property Administration, and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

V. Promote the facilitation of intellectual property rights (IPR) government services, and improve the efficiency of services that facilitate and benefit enterprises and the general public.

(XIII) Promote the optimization of handling procedures and innovation of service models. We will continue to shorten the processing period for patent and trademark alterations. Under normal circumstances, the examination of alteration of bibliographic items involving patent right transfer shall be completed within 1 month, and the first examination of trademark assignment and trademark alteration shall be completed within 40 days and 20 days respectively. The notification and commitment system will be fully implemented in the link of patent fee reduction, and the post-event verification and risk prevention mechanisms will be improved to further facilitate enterprises and the public in handling relevant affairs. Relying on the resource aggregation advantages of regional government service centers and government service platforms, we will promote the implementation of the "one-form application, one set of materials, one-window acceptance" mode for alterations of enterprise registration items and trademark alterations, explore the integrated handling of intellectual property services and other departmental services that are highly correlated with the whole life cycle of enterprises, so as to provide more "one-stop processing for one category of matters" services for enterprises and the public. We will standardize the government service hotline of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, continuously improve the hotline connection rate and the professional competence of response personnel, establish and improve the "immediate response to complaints and requests" mechanism, give full play to the window role of the service hotline that directly faces enterprises and the public, collect problems and suggestions timely, and respond to the demands of enterprises and the public. (The State Administration for Market Regulation and the China National Intellectual Property Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

(14) Deepening digital empowerment for public services. Relying on the National Intellectual Property Protection Information Platform and copyright-related information platforms, we will build exclusive service spaces for right holders, facilitate right holders to query all information of patents, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications and integrated circuit layout designs under their names with one click, and timely push reminders of information such as payment deadlines and affair handling progress. We will explore the application of technologies such as large language models to improve the intent recognition and accurate response capabilities of online intelligent customer service, optimize services including intelligent Q&A, intelligent search and intelligent service guidance, so as to better guide enterprises and the public to handle affairs efficiently and conveniently. We will accelerate the construction of the National Comprehensive Digital Intellectual Property Public Service Platform, deepen data sharing and business collaboration between the intellectual property field and sectors including economy, science and technology, administrative law enforcement, judicial protection and market supervision, further promote the sharing and application of intellectual property electronic certificate data, and realize cross-region and cross-department interconnection and mutual recognition of electronic certificates. (The National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

(XV) Optimize the people-centered and enterprise-friendly intellectual property rights (IPR) public service system. We will continue to improve the IPR public service network, further enhance the service efficiency of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC), national IPR information service centers of universities and colleges, and national IPR information public service outlets, and strengthen service support for strategic sci-tech forces and key industries. We will support IPR public service institutions in setting up service stations in key industrial parks and sci-tech parks to realize full coverage of IPR public services in key parks. We will issue national standards for IPR public services, and promote non-discriminatory acceptance and unified-standard handling of IPR-related business across China. We will strengthen public services for trademark brands, carry out analysis and utilization of trademark information, guide and support public service institutions to step up service support for regional brand building and enterprise brand development. (The National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration shall be responsible for relevant work in accordance with their respective functions and duties)

(16) Standardizing the conduct of service assessment and evaluation. We will improve the normalized government-enterprise communication mechanism, carry out satisfaction assessment of intellectual property public services, launch the "Good and Bad Reviews" system for intellectual property government services, publish evaluation results in a timely manner, and form a service evaluation mechanism with a fully connected whole process covering evaluation, rectification, feedback and supervision. Adhering to the high-quality development orientation, we will optimize the design of evaluation indicators related to intellectual property. Quantitative indicators such as the number of intellectual property registrations and authorizations, transfers and transactions shall not be directly included in the evaluation indicators, so as to accelerate the transformation of China's intellectual property work from quantity pursuit to quality improvement. (The National Intellectual Property Administration and the National Copyright Administration are responsible in accordance with the division of their respective functions and duties)

VI. Organizational Guarantee

The China National Intellectual Property Administration shall, in conjunction with all relevant departments, strengthen overall work coordination, improve working mechanisms, deepen data sharing, ensure all reform measures are put in place, and conduct policy interpretation, public opinion guidance and experience summarization effectively through various forms. Focusing on the outcomes of building a first-class business environment in the intellectual property field, it shall timely sort out, summarize, publicize and promote typical experiences and innovative practices for business environment optimization, and carry out diversified publicity and reporting to foster a sound social and public opinion atmosphere. All localities shall ensure solid implementation of relevant work. Meanwhile, in light of their respective regional development realities, they shall actively advance reform and innovation, take the lead in conducting pilot trials, and strive for more breakthroughs in the work of optimizing the business environment in China's intellectual property sector.

China National Intellectual Property Administration and Ministry of Education

Ministry of Science and Technology, State Administration for Market Regulation

National Administration of Financial Regulation, National Copyright Administration

Chinese Academy of Sciences

March 13, 2025