Amendments in a new draft of the revised Patent Law focus on increased protection, patent commercialization and administrative services, said a senior official at the State Intellectual Property Office.

The new draft was based on the version sent to the State Council in early 2013 for approval and it was released on April 1 to solicit opinions. The new draft addresses challenges in legal protection, such as difficulties in collecting evidence, insufficient compensation and high costs.

Courts can order suspects to provide financial records and other evidence if rights owners have already made failed efforts to access them, according to the draft.

Punitive damages, about two to three times compensation, are introduced in the case of malicious infringements.

The amended draft also has added regulations about online counterfeit cases.

Source: China Daily

04-23-2015