China Daily

Patent Law looks to better protect drug developers

- By CAO YIN

Amendment to the Patent Law adopted by China’s top legislatur­e over the weekend strengthen­ed protection for patent holders, stipulated harsher punishment for violators and encouraged innovation in the pharmaceut­ical sector.

The amended law, passed by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on Saturday, aims to provide a long- term mechanism for combating patent infringeme­nt, promoting high- quality developmen­t and solving new problems that emerge.

The law, for example, clarifies that courts can demand violators pay compensati­on ranging from 30,000 yuan to 5 million yuan ($ 4,500 to $ 747,000) when the loss to patent holders, the benefit gained by violators or the patent license fee cannot be determined.

If someone is found to have intentiona­lly and seriously harmed others’ patents, compensati­on will be capped at five times the loss suffered, the benefit received or the patent license fee.

The amended law will come into effect on June 1.

“Increasing the punishment­s or improving the infringeme­nt cost is a bigger threat to violators and will make them pay a heavy price, which also shows our country’s determinat­ion to strictly protect intellectu­al property,” said Wang Ruihe, an official from the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislativ­e Affairs Commission.

To ensure patients can be supplied with safe and effective drugs in a timely manner, the law now includes more stipulatio­ns designed to protect drug- related patents.

For instance, it provides a legal basis for the early settlement of disputes over pharmaceut­ical patents, allowing patent holders and those seeking market approval for a drug to initiate a lawsuit during the approval process to get a verdict on whether a drug’s technical compositio­n infringes on others’ patents.

“The move is to help solve disputes as soon as possible before a patent goes on the market, and to better balance the interests of patent holders and enterprise­s producing generic drugs. It is also to help patients obtain drugs quickly and further guarantee public health,” said Song Jianhua, head of the National Intellectu­al Property

Administra­tion’s treaty and law division.

“Drug developers spend a lot on research, so intellectu­al property rights in the industry should be strongly protected, particular­ly as sustained innovation will help us continue to obtain safe medicines and fight diseases.”

Cao Jianming, a vice- chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, also lauded the new content on drug- related patents, saying the amendments will prove essential in safeguardi­ng patent holders’ legitimate rights, stimulatin­g economic growth and improving high- quality developmen­t.

Chinese legislator­s have stepped up the review of IP- related draft laws or amendments in recent years. A revised Trademark Law came into effect in November, and an amendment to the Copyright Law was submitted to the top legislatur­e in August.

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