China’s patent law was promulgated in 1984 and amended three times prior to 2020 (in 1992, 2000, and 2008). On October 17, 2020, the National People’s Congress adopted the Fourth Amendment to the People’s Republic of China Patent Law. The Amendment takes effect June 1, 2021. The Fourth Amendment includes significant changes to China’s patent law, such as creation of a system for drug patent disputes modeled on Hatch-Waxman litigation in the US; a longer patent protection period; and an increase of the damages limit.
In this Insights, we highlight the changes related to economic damages.
