August 2024 / Vol.41

Spotlights
THE LATEST FROM WATSON & BAND
Watson & Band Wins the CBLJ – 2024 China Business Law Award in the Insolvency and Restructuring Field
Watson & Band Receives Multiple Nominations for the "2024 ALB China Regional Law Awards: East
China"
THE LATEST LEGAL DEVELOPMENTSGAC Releases Risk Management Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China
Three Authorities Introduce Opinions on Application of Law in the Handling of Cross-border Telecom andOnline Fraud and Other Criminal Cases
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Two Authorities Clarify Annual Fee Standards for Patent Right Compensation Period and Other Matters
CYBER-SECURITY AND DATA PROTECTION
TC260 Seeks Comments on the Data Security Technology — Data Interface Security Risk Monitoring
Methods
MARITAL AND FAMILY AFFAIRSMCA Seeks Comments on Revision to the Regulations on Marriage Registration

INTRODUCTION
Watson & Band has flourished into a full-service law firm with more than 400 pro-fessionals
around China. We provide the highest quality services for our clients and enjoy a nationwide
reputation as one of the most prominent law firms in China. This excellence and breadth has madeus the firm of choice for many world's leading companies and financial institutions as they seek
sophisticated legal service. Based on its commitment of quality service, Watson & Band has retained
a team of professionals to provide diversified service to its clients, which has won it the honor of
China’s Best Law Firm and Top-tier IPR Team.

Watson & Band Law Offices
Established in 1995, Watson & Band is one of the oldest law firms
in China that provide foreign-related legal services. Headquartered in
Shanghai, Watson & Band maintains multiple branches or offices in
Beijing, Hong Kong, Harbin, Lanzhou, Yantai, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou,
Chengdu,Chicago and Tokyo.
For over decades our team members have collaborated to stay
on top of IP and corporate issues, helping clients improve operations,
reduce costs, limit risks, enforce rights and achieve common businessgoals. For these reasons, the firm and its professionals are consistently
recognized in client and peer-reviewed industry awards and rankings as
being among the best.
These superb services derive from a spirit of dedication that hasbrought Watson & Band the honor of being listed among “China’s
Best Law Firms”. In past years our firm has received numerous awards
from third-party ranking agencies such as “Top 10 IP Law Firm”,“Recommended Law Firm”. “China’s Most Dynamic Law Firm” and“Premier IP Law Firm”. Watson & Band Law Offices has also been
named a “Key Shanghai Enterprise in Special Services Trades (Legal
Services)” by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce andthe Shanghai Judicial Bureau.

Watson & Band Intellectual Property Agent Ltd.
Headquartered in Shanghai, W&B Agent Ltd. operates branch
offices in Beijing and Lanzhou. Our patent agency services covervarious technical fields such as chemistry, biology, medicine,mechanics, electronics, communication, optics and physics, as well
as design patent, IP searches, patent validity analysis, infringe-ment
analysis, requests for patent invalidation declaration, litigation andpatent consultation, etc. We have established a patent agency service
department re-sponsible for special clients. Agents from various
technical divisions all have rich experience and are able to work withseveral languages.

CONTACT US

Shanghai Office

Address: 26 th Floor, The Center, No.989 Changle
Road, Shanghai 200031 P.R.C.
Tel: (86-21) 5292-1111; (86-21) 6350-0777
Fax: (86-21)5292-1001; (86-21) 6272-6366
E-mail: mail@watsonband.com ;mail-ip@watsonband.com

Beijing Office
Address: 5C, D Block, Fuhua Mansion, No. 8 North
Chaoyangmen Street, Dongcheng Dis-trict, Beijing
100027 P.R.C.
Tel: (86-10) 6625-6025 Fax:(86-10) 6625-6025-800
E-mail: beijing@watsonband.com;
mail-ip@watsonband.com

Harbin Office
Address: Room A2, Madi-eer Shopping Center No.37
West Badao Street, Daoli District, Harbin 150010
P.R.C.
Tel:(+86)13936251391
E-mail: harbin@watsonband.com

Gansu Office
Room 1823, Real Estate Tower, No.1 Tongwei Road,
Lanzhou, Gansu Province, 730000, P.R.C.
E-mail：gansu@watsonband.com

Yantai OfficeB3-703, Donghe Science and Technology Park, South
Tongshi Road, Zhifu District, Yantai, Shandong,
264000E-mail：yantai@watsonband.com
Tel: 0535-4104160

Guangzhou Office
Room 3708, Fuli Yingtong Building 30 Huaxia Road,
Tianhe District, Guangzhou
E-mail:xuefeng.xie@watson-band.com.cn
Tel: +020-85647039

Zhengzhou Office706-7F, Building B, Kineer IFC, 88 East Jinshui
Road, Zhengdong New District, Zhengzhou
Tel: 0371-86569881

Suzhou Office
Room 507, Building 5, No.9 Xuesen Road, Scienceand Technology City, High-tech District, Suzhou
Tel: 0512-68431110

Chengdu Office
Room 2001, 20F, Building 27, 269 Tianfu No.2
Avenue, High-tech District, Chengdu
Tel: +86-13398190635

Catalogue
THE LATEST FROM WATSON & BAND
Watson & Band Wins the CBLJ – 2024 China Business Law Award in the Insolvency and Restructuring
Field…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Watson & Band Receives Multiple Nominations for the "2024 ALB China Regional Law Awards: East
China"…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

THE LATEST LEGAL DEVELOPMENTSGAC Releases Risk Management Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China……………… 5
Three Authorities Introduce Opinions on Application of Law in the Handling of Cross-border Telecom andOnline Fraud and Other Criminal Cases………………………………………………………………………… 5
CNIPA Unveils Measures for Mediation of Disputes Arising from Implementation of Patent Open Licensing………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Two Authorities Clarify Annual Fee Standards for Patent Right Compensation Period and Other Matters…… 7
CNIPA Seeks Public Comments on Measures for Administrative Adjudication and Mediation of Patent
Disputes………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7

CYBER-SECURITY AND DATA PROTECTION

TC260 Seeks Comments on the Data Security Technology — Data Interface Security Risk Monitoring
Methods………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
TC260 Seeks Comments on the Data Security Technology — Personal Information Protection Compliance
Audit Requirements…………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

MARITAL AND FAMILY AFFAIRSMCA Seeks Comments on Revision to the Regulations on Marriage Registration…………………………… 9Disclaimer◆

This Newsletter provides case brief only instead of formal legal opinion regarding any specific case.
This Newsletter selects and summarizes official announcements, news and other public documents released by
National Intellectual Property Administration of China (CNIPA), Trademark Office of CNIPA, National Copyright
Administration of China and other official institutions.
◆ This Newsletter has cited the source of the aforementioned official announcements, news and other public documents.
◆

The Latest from W&B

Page 4

Watson & Band Wins the CBLJ – 2024 China Business Law Award in the Insolvency
and Restructuring Field
On July 24, China Business Law Journal, the world well-known legal media outlet, announced the winners of its 2024
China Business Law Awards. Watson & Band has been recognized for its outstanding performance and reputation in theinsolvency and restructuring field over the years, winning this year’s Award in this field.
In 2007, Watson & Band was selected into the first batch of
bankruptcy administrators by the Shanghai High Court, and laterin 2014 was selected into the first-class bankruptcy administrators by the Shanghai High Court. Then in 2022, with high scores,
Watson & Band was selected into the first-class bankruptcy administrators by the Shanghai High Court again, and Zhu Xiaosu,
the lead partner of the team, was selected into the first batch ofnatural person administrators. The existing bankruptcy service
team is composed of more than 30 full-time practicing lawyers,
and the team members all have rich experience in bankruptcy and liquidation cases. Some of them have been elected tothe bankruptcy service committee of the Shanghai Bar Association and the Shanghai Bankruptcy Administrators Association, and still some of them have the qualifications of financial, accounting and/or tax agents.
With its outstanding performance in the field of insolvency and restructuring, Watson & Band was named “2015 China
Insolvency and Restructuring Law Firm of the Year” by Asian Legal Business and “2016 Insolvency and Restructuring
Law Firm of the Year” by Asialaw Profiles. It has been included in the list of China’s top-ranked law firms in the fieldof “Bankruptcy Liquidation and Reorganization” by the well-known rating agency LEGALBAND for six consecutive
years from 2019 to 2024.

Watson & Band Receives Multiple Nominations for the "2024 ALB China Regional
Law Awards: East China"
On July 4, Asian Legal Business (ALB), a Thomson
Reuters publication, announced the finalists for the 2024
ALB China Regional Legal Awards: East China. Watson& Band’s professional services and good reputation wererecognized by this award, and it was once again nominatedfor three awards – “Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year: East China – Local”, “Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law Firm of the Year: East China – Local” and “Wealth Management Law Firm of the Year: East China –Local”.
The Asian Legal Journal (ALB) is Thomson Reuters’ leading legal magazine and one of the world’s most influential
legal media outlets. The influence of its rankings covers many jurisdictions around the world, and it is also regarded as
one of the authoritative benchmarks in the legal industry.
“ALB China Regional Law Award: East China” aims to recognize and promote the top law firms, in-house teams andindividuals with strong capabilities and outstanding performance in the legal services market in East China, and is committed to encouraging more legal teams and practitioners to make outstanding contributions in this field. The awards
focus on five provinces and one city in East China, namely Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Shanghai.
The 2024 Awards attracted more than 920 nominations from more than 100 law firms and in-house teams that havemade prominent achievements in the legal services market in East China, covering 30 awards in various legal practicefields.

Latest Legal Developments

Page 5GAC Releases Risk Management Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of
China
On July 31, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) issued the Risk Management Measures of the Customs of
the People’s Republic of China (the “Measures”), with effect on December 1, 2024.
The Measures specify that, the customs may, as needed for risk management, collect risk information by such channels
as “implementing risk monitoring”. The customs shall establish a risk assessment indicator system based on the collected information and other information obtained during the entry and exit supervision and management process, so as to
identify the hazard factors and their causes, assess the degree of risk, possibility of occurrence, and trend, and make anassessment conclusion on the risk level. The Measures stipulate that the customs shall make management decisions onrisk handling based on the risk assessment conclusions and in light of such factors as the credit status of organizations
and individuals, and industries and characteristics of entry and exit activities, adopt handling measures that match therisk level, implement graded and classified handling, and adopt one or more risk handling measures that match the risk
level pursuant to the law.
(Source: General Administration of Customs)

Three Authorities Introduce Opinions on Application of Law in the Handling of Crossborder Telecom and Online Fraud and Other Criminal Cases
On July 26, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and two other departments released the Opinions on Several Issues
Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Cross-border Telecom and Online Fraud and Other Criminal
Cases (the “Opinions”).
The Opinions stipulate the overall requirements, application of laws, and procedural regulations, among others, withhighlights in four areas: (1) adhering to an overall strict approach to demonstrate a stance of severe punishment; (2)maintaining a problem-oriented approach to address practical needs; (3) ensuring lawful crackdowns to prevent wrongful accusations and leniency; and (4) strengthening the recovery of illicit gains and the protection of property rights. The
Opinions identify four key areas where punishment shall be imposed: legally targeting criminal groups and their organizers, planners, leaders, and key members; launching a crackdown on organizations that shelter cross-border telecomand online fraud and other criminal activities; focusing on the crimes committed by criminal groups such as intentional
homicide, intentional injury, kidnapping, rape, forced prostitution, and illegal detention; and combating the criminal
activities of organizing and transporting individuals to illegally cross borders (frontiers) for the recruitment of criminalgroups involved in cross-border telecom and online fraud.
(Source: Supreme People’s Procuratorate)

Latest Legal Developments

Page 6

CNIPA Unveils Measures for Mediation of Disputes Arising from Implementation ofPatent Open Licensing
On July 18, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) formulated and released the Measures
for Mediation of Disputes Arising from Implementation of Patent Open Licensing (for Trial Implementation) (the “Measures”), effective from the date of release.
The Measures, consisting of 30 articles in five chapters, clarify matters related to the mediation of disputes arising from
implementation of patent open licensing, including case acceptance, case mediation, and case closure. Specifically, interms of case acceptance, the Measures delineate the criteria for accepting applications for mediation of disputes arisingfrom implementation of patent open licensing, the documents and materials that parties should submit, the conditions formaking acceptance decisions, circumstances for non-acceptance, and registration of acceptance. Regarding case mediation, the Measures specify the mediator appointment procedures, the number of mediators, grounds for mediator recusal,
conduct standards for mediators during the mediation process, the rights and obligations of the parties, penalties for theparties’ misconduct, steps and timelines for conducting mediation, circumstances triggering suspension, and conditions
for resumption after suspension.
(Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration)

Intellectual Property

Page 7

Two Authorities Clarify Annual Fee Standards for Patent Right Compensation Period
and Other Matters
On August 6, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) jointly
issued the Circular on Relevant Matters Including the Annual Fee Standards for Patent Right Compensation Period (the“Circular”).
The Circular stipulates that the annual fee standard for patent right compensation period should be CNY8,000 per
item, with no charge for a period less than one year; the fee standard for a compensation request for patent right duration should be CNY200 per item. The Circular further clarifies that, according to international practices and the principle of reciprocity, the notes in Appendix 2 of the Circular of the National Development and Reform Commission and
the Ministry of Finance on Relevant Issues concerning the Reissue of Administrative and Institutional Fee Standards for
the China National Intellectual Property Administration will be revised as follows: the international patent applications(PCT applications) received and searched internationally by the China National Intellectual Property Administration(CNIPA) will be exempt from application fees and application surcharges when entering the national phase in China.
PCT applications for which the CNIPA has issued an international search report or an international preliminary reporton patentability will be exempt from the substantive examination fee when entering the national phase in China and requesting substantive examination. Other fee standards for PCT applications entering the national phase in China will be
subject to the domestic standards.
(Source: National Development and Reform Commission)

CNIPA Seeks Public Comments on Measures for Administrative Adjudication andMediation of Patent Disputes
On July 19, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) formulated and released the Measures
for Administrative Adjudication and Mediation of Patent Disputes (Draft for Comment) (the “Draft”) and its drafting
notes. The Draft is now open for public comments until September 2, 2024.
Compared with the previous version, the Draft has made improvements in three aspects: the implementation of new
systems, the refinement of case handling norms, and the optimization of case handling procedures. Specifically, regarding the refinement of case handling norms, firstly, it addresses the demands of case-handling authorities and parties involved; secondly, it clarifies the substantive standards for determining patent infringement; and thirdly, it further refines
other procedural norms. The Draft has made provisions on the scope of protection for patents, how to specifically apply
the principle of comprehensive coverage, doctrine of estoppel, and dedication rule, as well as the standards for identicaland equivalent infringement in determining infringement. It also explains the relevant contents regarding the early resolution mechanism for drug patent disputes.
(Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration)

Cyber-security and Data
Protection
TC260 Seeks Comments on the Data Security
Technology — Data Interface Security Risk
Monitoring Methods
On August 6, the National Technical Committee 260 on Cyber-security Standardization Administration of China (TC260)
released the national standard “Data Security Technology —Data Interface Security Risk Monitoring Methods (Draft forComment)” (the “Draft”) for public comments until October 1,
2024.
The Draft provides methods for data interface security risk
monitoring, including approaches, content, processes, etc., andspecifies key monitoring points for each stage of data interface
security risk monitoring. This standard is applicable to guiding
data interface security risk monitoring activities carried out by
various organizations. The Draft first clarifies the definition ofdata interface and abstracts the basic elements of a data interface from the roles and relationships of the parties involved in
the data interface. Based on these basic elements, it proposes anoverall framework for data interface risk monitoring methods,
and further describes the monitoring approaches, principles, andprocesses within this framework.
(Source: National Technical Committee 260 on Cyber-security
Standardization Administration of China (TC260))

Page 8

TC260 Seeks Comments on the
D a t a S e c u r i t y Te c h n o l o g y —Personal Information Protection
Compliance Audit Requirements
On July 15, the National Technical Committee
260 on Cyber-security Standardization Administration of China (TC260) released the Data Security Technology — Personal Information Protection Compliance Audit Requirements (Draft
for Comment) (the “Draft”) for public comments,
and the cut-off date for submitting comments is
September 11, 2024.
The Draft sets out the audit principles and general audit requirements for personal information
protection compliance audits, putting forward
overall requirements for personal information
processors as well as auditors that conduct personal information protection compliance audits.
The Draft is designed to implement Article 54of the Personal Information Protection Law of
the People’s Republic of China, which statesthat “personal information processors shall havethe compliance of their activities of processingof personal information with laws and administrative regulations audited on a regular basis.”
In addition, the schedules of the Draft specify
reference documents including the personal information protection compliance audit process, audit
evidence, audit content and methods, audit working paper templates, and audit report templates.
(Source: National Technical Committee 260 on
Cyber-security Standardization Administration ofChina (TC260))

Marital and Family Affairs

Page 9MCA Seeks Comments on Revision to theRegulations on Marriage Registration
On August 13, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) drafted the Regulations on Marriage Registration (Draft Revision for Comment) (the “Draft”) to seek public opinions by
September 11, 2024.
The Draft stipulates that China will strengthen the informatization of marriage management. The civil affairs department under the State Council shall coordinate the planning, building, and improvement of a national marriage
information database, establish an information-sharing
mechanism in collaboration with the courts, the foreign affairs departments, the public security departments, and other relevant departments to ensure that marriage information istimely, accurate, complete, and secure. The Draft introduces several provisions, including those reading “within 30 days
from the date when the marriage registration authority receives the divorce registration application, either party may apply for withdrawing the application for divorce registration to the original marriage registration authority receiving thesaid application if he or she is unwilling to proceed with the divorce, and the marriage registration authority shall terminate the divorce registration procedure.” The Draft also clarifies that, for voluntary divorce, the divorce agreement shallspecify the mutual intent to divorce and include the opinions regarding child support, property, debt handling, and othermatters as agreed through negotiation.
(Source: Ministry of Civil Affairs)