National Intellectual Property Administration

Intellectual Property Bureaus of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

The "2025 Intellectual Property Administrative Protection Work Plan" (hereinafter referred to as the "Work Plan") is hereby issued to you. Please earnestly implement it in light of local realities.

Each provincial intellectual property bureau should carefully organize and implement the tasks deployed in the Work Plan, and submit semi-annual and annual work summaries respectively by July 15, 2025, and January 15, 2026, through the comprehensive office system (OA) of the National Intellectual Property Administration. Electronic copies should be simultaneously sent to the contact email address. The statistical table of intellectual property law enforcement guidance cases should be submitted together with the summary.

National Intellectual Property Administration

March 17, 2025

This Work Plan is formulated to thoroughly implement the important instructions and directives of General Secretary XI Jinping on comprehensively strengthening intellectual property protection work, resolutely implement the decision-making and deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, effectively promote the implementation of the "Outline for Building an Intellectual Property Power (2021-2035)", the "14th Five-Year Plan for Intellectual Property Protection and Utilization", and the "Opinions on Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection", further improve the intellectual property protection system, strengthen the whole-chain protection of intellectual property, and help create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized.

I. Promote the Implementation of Laws and Regulations. Implement and publicize the Patent Law and its implementing regulations. Cooperate with the revision of the Trademark Law and the Regulations on the Protection of Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits. Implement the "Measures for Administrative Adjudication and Mediation of Patent Disputes", the "Provisions on Regulating Patent Application Behaviors", the "Provisions on the Registration and Administration of Collective Marks and Certification Marks", and the "Measures for the Protection of Geographical Indication Products". Implement law enforcement norms such as the "Provisions on Evidence in Trademark Administrative Law Enforcement", the "Calculation Method for the Illegal Business Volume of Trademark Infringement Cases", and the "Provisions on Case Causes of Intellectual Property Cases in the Market Regulation Field (for Trial Implementation)".

II. Improve and Optimize the Protection System. Promote the implementation of the "Implementation Plan for the Intellectual Property Protection System Construction Project", and strengthen the construction of the intellectual property protection policy and standard system, management system, social co-governance system, security governance system, and support system. Conduct an assessment of the implementation of the intellectual property protection construction project in a timely manner. Establish a regular communication mechanism with private enterprises and foreign-funded enterprises, listen to their opinions and suggestions on intellectual property protection in a timely manner, and respond to their demands.

III. Standardize the Application and Use of Patents and Trademarks. Continuously and severely crack down on abnormal patent applications, malicious trademark registrations, and hoarding through measures such as improving management systems, carrying out special campaigns, guiding industry self-discipline, and strengthening the supervision of agency institutions. Strengthen professional guidance on investigating and punishing the illegal use of prohibited trademarks that are deceptive or have an adverse impact. For trademarks that have already been registered, promptly report them to the National Intellectual Property Administration for ex officio invalidation in accordance with procedures, and intensify follow-up handling after the invalidation decision takes effect. Promote the implementation of the "Trial Standards for Government Procurement Requirements for Patent and Trademark Agency Services".

IV. Strengthen Patent Protection. Improve the administrative adjudication review and reporting mechanism for major patent infringement disputes. Strictly review the facts and evidence that meet the case-filing conditions, and standardize the issuance of supporting materials. Promote the standardization of administrative adjudication of patent infringement disputes, smooth the acceptance channels, optimize the trial model, intensify case handling efforts, and highlight the quality and efficiency of case handling. Accurately identify infringement facts, strictly determine infringement acts, and actively handle simple cases quickly and complex cases meticulously. Encourage localities to fully rely on professional forces such as technology investigation centers, technology investigator expert databases, and intellectual property appraisal institutions to provide technical support for case handling.

V. Strengthen Trademark Protection. Strengthen the timely, key, and cited protection of well-known trademarks. Encourage localities to strengthen the protection of time-honored Chinese brand trademarks and well-known trademarks related to the inheritance and development of cultural heritage by carrying out special governance campaigns and establishing enterprise credit evaluation systems, and severely crack down on "brand-aping" and other infringement acts. Strengthen the supervision and professional guidance on concealed infringement acts in the Internet field, such as infringement through keywords, combined use of registered trademarks, and using design patents to infringe on others' prior registered trademarks.

VI. Strengthen the Protection of Geographical Indications. Implement the "Implementation Plan for the Unified Geographical Indication Recognition System", and orderly promote the transformation of original agricultural geographical indications. Promote the construction of national geographical indication protection demonstration zones with high quality, and strengthen the supervision during the implementation of geographical indication protection projects. Conduct an evaluation of the implementation of the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Protection and Utilization of Geographical Indications". Encourage localities to use means such as origin traceability to improve the characteristic quality assurance system for geographical indications and the professional inspection and testing system for geographical indications. Establish and improve the work system for the approval, cancellation, and supervision of the use of the special mark for geographical indications, and standardize the use of the special mark.

VII. Strengthen the Protection in New Fields and New Business Forms. Actively cooperate with the registration service of data intellectual property, organize and carry out publicity and promotion, policy interpretation, and registration guidance for the public in a timely manner, and guide and encourage the public to actively carry out registration. Strengthen intellectual property protection in the field of artificial intelligence, and publicize and implement the "Trial Guidelines for Patent Application Related to Artificial Intelligence". Increase the intensity of intellectual property protection for forward-looking and strategic emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaics. Improve the working mechanism in combination with industry and regional characteristics, strengthen the handling of cases such as patent administrative adjudication, and provide precise guidance services.

VIII. Strengthen Protection in People's Livelihood and Hot-spot Areas. Focus on fields related to public interests and the vital interests of the people, such as food and medicine, rehabilitation aids, children's toys, household appliances, and green and low-carbon technologies. Increase the intensity of daily supervision over intellectual property infringement and illegal acts and administrative law enforcement guidance on trademarks and patents. For areas where infringement occurs frequently, promptly carry out special governance of intellectual property. Increase the intensity of intellectual property protection in the seed industry, and strengthen professional guidance on investigating and punishing infringement acts such as counterfeiting and brand-faking.

IX. Strengthen Protection during Major Events and Key Nodes. Do a good job in the intellectual property protection of large-scale events such as the 9th Asian Winter Games, the 12th World Games, and the 15th National Games. Severely crack down on infringement acts such as counterfeiting sports event souvenirs and cultural and creative products. Strengthen the intellectual property protection of large-scale exhibitions such as the China Import and Export Fair, the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, and the China International Consumer Products Expo. Strengthen pre-exhibition inspections, in-exhibition inspections, and post-exhibition follow-up, smooth the complaint channels, and quickly handle intellectual property disputes. Do a good job in intellectual property protection during festivals such as May Day, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day. Strengthen the supervision of e-commerce platforms, supermarkets, and professional markets to prevent the circulation of counterfeit and infringing goods. Conduct risk investigations and special rectifications at the time when seasonal geographical indication products are intensively launched on the market, and strictly regulate the illegal use of geographical indications.

X. Strengthen Foreign-related Intellectual Property Protection. Promote the establishment of a foreign-related intellectual property protection working mechanism within the region. Improve the foreign-related intellectual property protection service system, handle various cases fairly and justly, and equally protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-invested enterprises. Strengthen the construction of local sub-centers for overseas intellectual property dispute response guidance, with a focus on strengthening guidance services for private enterprises in overseas disputes. Improve the overseas risk early-warning mechanism, strengthen the early-warning monitoring of disputes such as "Section 337 investigations", cross-border e-commerce litigation, and malicious trademark squatting, and enhance the timeliness and initiative of serving enterprises. Strengthen coordination and connection with the commerce department, and strictly manage the external transfer of intellectual property rights in technology exports in accordance with the law.

XI. Deepen Rapid and Collaborative Protection. Further promote the high-quality work of rapid and collaborative intellectual property protection, strengthen the operation and management of national-level intellectual property protection centers and rapid rights protection centers, review and verify the pre-filing entities and agency institutions for patent pre-examination, and strengthen the management of pre-examination quality and public opinion monitoring. Aggregate various intellectual property resources, strengthen departmental communication and cooperation, standardize and smooth the connection procedures, and promote the rapid handling of intellectual property disputes. Encourage national-level intellectual property protection centers and rapid rights protection centers to provide assistance or technical support for administrative adjudication and administrative mediation. Encourage national-level intellectual property protection centers to carry out multi-mode trials of patent reexamination and invalidation cases, and promote the connection between patent right confirmation and administrative adjudication and administrative mediation of infringement disputes. Encourage national-level intellectual property protection centers to set up workstations in areas with concentrated original innovation, such as national laboratories and large-scale scientific facilities. Establish an intellectual property public service mechanism in science and technology parks and industrial parks, and support qualified intellectual property public service institutions to carry out information services such as overseas intellectual property rights protection and infringement early-warning.

XII. Strengthen Cross-departmental and Cross-regional Collaboration. Strengthen cooperation with people's courts, procuratorial organs, and public security organs, establish a long-term liaison mechanism, and promote the unification of standards for administrative and judicial protection of intellectual property. Deepen cross-regional intellectual property administrative protection cooperation in regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pan-Pearl River Delta, and Chengdu-Chongqing. Do solid and detailed work in information sharing, joint evidence collection, mutual recognition of results, etc., strengthen the follow-up handling of transferred clues, strengthen the collaborative protection of key trademarks and geographical indications and the evaluation of protection effects, and solve new problems such as "concealed" infringement across regions.

XIII. Promote the Resolution of Disputes through Social Co-governance. Strengthen the administrative mediation of patent ownership disputes, invention award and remuneration disputes, etc., strengthen case-handling guidance and linkage, and improve the quality and efficiency of mediation. Strengthen the professional construction of people's mediation organizations. Strengthen the construction of the mediation team by setting up full-time mediators and establishing expert databases, etc., and enhance the professionalism and credibility of mediation. Promote the online connection between litigation and mediation for intellectual property disputes. Strengthen intellectual property dispute arbitration, and expand the use of arbitration channels to resolve intellectual property disputes. Strengthen the construction of the credit system in the field of intellectual property, and strengthen the dishonesty punishment for trademark and patent infringement, malicious trademark squatting, abnormal patent applications, etc. Give full play to the role of typical cases of multiple mediation of intellectual property disputes, do a good job in case selection, promotion, and release, and intensify the experience exchange and promotion.

XIV. Strengthen Professional Law Enforcement Guidance. Strengthen professional guidance on law enforcement in the field of intellectual property to effectively crack down on various infringement and illegal acts. Standardize the case request handling work system. For requests for instructions on difficult cases, conduct case situation research and legal analysis in a timely manner and give replies. Strictly implement the written reply and filing system for provincial intellectual property management departments. Increase the intensity of follow-up handling of replied cases, and improve the quality and efficiency of case handling. Do a good job in the review of case files. Strengthen the selection and submission of guiding cases.

XV. Promote Intelligent Supervision and Protection. Continuously explore the application of new technologies such as the Internet, big data, cloud computing, and blockchain in intellectual property supervision. Promote the use of the National Intellectual Property Protection Information Platform, support localities in accelerating the construction of intellectual property public service platforms and independently controllable special databases, and strengthen data sharing and business collaboration. Steadily promote the implementation of national standards such as the "Specifications for Intellectual Property Protection in Commodity Trading Markets" and the "Intellectual Property Protection Management on E-commerce Platforms". Encourage regions with conditions to use big data technology to carry out infringement and illegal risk monitoring, and achieve real-time monitoring of clues of infringement and illegal acts on e-commerce platforms.

XVI. Strengthen Publicity and Training. Coordinate traditional and emerging media, make good use of converged media, and publicize the measures and achievements of intellectual property protection work through multiple channels. Make full use of important opportunities such as the National Intellectual Property Publicity Week to carry out centralized publicity, release typical cases and experience, and create a good atmosphere for strengthening administrative protection. Strengthen the publicity and training of newly issued policies and regulations such as the "Measures for Administrative Adjudication and Mediation of Patent Disputes" and the "Provisions on Evidence in Trademark Administrative Law Enforcement", and actively carry out activities such as business training, case discussions, and skills competitions to improve the administrative protection capabilities of grass-roots intellectual property departments.

XVII. Strengthen Organizational Guarantee. Each provincial intellectual property bureau should earnestly organize and implement, clarify the division of responsibilities, refine work measures, and make targeted improvements in response to the shortcomings and deficiencies in intellectual property protection in the 2024 central quality, food safety, and intellectual property protection assessment. Strengthen supervision and guidance, commend units and individuals who are responsible for their work and have outstanding achievements, and criticize those where infringement occurs frequently and the protection effect is not good. Promptly urge rectification, report work progress to the National Intellectual Property Administration as required, and seek instructions and reports in a timely manner for important matters.

Notice on Issuing the 2025 Intellectual Property Administrative Protection Work Plan (qq.com) (Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration WeChat)