世界知识产权组织：中国专利商标申请量世界第一；美智库最新报告：改革337条款，阻止中国进入美国市场

A new report from the World Intellectual Property Organization on Monday found that patent and trademark filings are on the rise around the world, especially in China, where the CNIPA has received 1.59 million patent applications in 2021, more than double the number received by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "Offices located in Asia received two-thirds, 67.6%, of all applications filed worldwide in 2021 — a considerable increase from 54.6% in 2011 — mainly driven by long-term growth in China," according to the report. Besides, Patent filings in China last year accounted for nearly half of the worldwide total.

世界知识产权组织周一发布了一份最新报告称，世界各地的专利和商标申请量均在上升。尤其是在中国，国家知识产权局去年受理的专利申请量为159万件，是美国专利商标局申请量的两倍多。根据该报告，“在中国长期增长的推动下，2021年，亚洲受理了全球三分之二的申请量，即67.6%，比2011年的54.6%有了大幅增长”，此外，去年中国的专利申请总量占全球专利申请总量的近一半。

Section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act aimed at safeguarding intellectual property in the U.S. isn't doing enough to counter China's use of unfair trade practices in competing with the United States' advanced industries, according to a Monday report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation(ITIF), a top-ranked science and technology policy think tank that may guide the policy direction in the US. The report focuses on expanding the use of section 337 for investigation to unfair trade practices, rather than limited to patent disputes, and proposes the transformation of law enforcement entities from enterprises as the main body to any US government department. Its main purpose is to restrict Chinese industries that could pose a threat to the US from entering the US market, based on an immediate general exclusion order of section 337, people familiar with the matter said.

美国科技政策智库信息技术与创新基金会（ITFT）周一发布了一份报告，称旨在保护美国知识产权的《1930年关税法案》第337条在打击中国使用不公平贸易行为与美国先进产业竞争方面力度不足。报告的重点是希望将337条款的调查范围扩大到不公平贸易行为，而非仅仅局限于专利纠纷，报告同时建议将执法对象从以企业为主体的现状转变为任何美国政府部门都可以提出337调查。知情人士称，其核心目的就是对任何可能对美国有威胁的中国产业，立刻以337条款的普遍排除令为依据，限制中国产品进入美国市场。

The U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced Tuesday they're seeking comments on intellectual property concerns stemming from the growing use of digital assets known as NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, with plans to hold public roundtables in January to gather feedback. In June, senators urged the offices to "consult with the private sector, drawing from the technological, creative and academic sectors." Comments may be submitted on regulations.gov through Jan. 9, and the roundtable meetings — via video conference — will be held on Jan. 10 on patents, Jan. 12 on trademarks, and Jan. 18 on copyright, according to the Tuesday announcement.

美国版权局和美国专利商标局周二宣布，正在寻求对非同质化代币（NFTs）引发的知识产权问题的意见，并计划在1月份举行公开圆桌会议以收集反馈。今年6月，几名参议员敦促版权局和专利商标局“与私营部门协商，从技术、创意和学术部门汲取意见”。根据周二的公告，意见可能会从明年1月9日起在regulations.gov网站上提交，而涉及专利、商标和著作权问题的圆桌视频会议将分别于1月10日、12日和18日举行。

The State Administration for Market Regulation is soliciting public opinion on a draft amendment to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, which focuses on digital economy, according to its official website on Tuesday. The draft aims to improve the anti-unfair competition rules for the digital economy, with operators being prohibited from engaging in unfair competition by using data, algorithms and platform rules. According to the report, the draft comes amid rapid development of the new economy along with various new industrial forms, resulting in the need to rein in new types of unfair competition involving data, algorithms and platform rules. The draft also listed new types of unfair competition into the law, including acts that harm the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium-sized market entities, added the administration.

据国家市场监督管理总局官网网站周二消息，中国正在就《反不正当竞争法》修订草案征求公众意见。据悉，该草案聚焦数字经济，旨在完善数字经济领域的反不正当竞争规则，禁止运营商通过使用数据、算法和平台规则进行不正当竞争。中国正值新的经济和工业形式的快速发展之际，需要对涉及数据、算法和平台规则的新型不正当竞争行为进行管控，该草案因此应运而生。此外，草案还列入了新型的不正当竞争，包括损害中小型市场实体合法权益的行为。

According to news on Nov 18, Canada's top court denied plastics company Nova Chemicals' appeal of a C$645 million ($482 million) payment awarded to the Dow Chemical Co in a patent infringement case. The Supreme Court of Canada upheld a ruling by a lower court that had awarded the amount to the Dow Inc unit, calculated based on profits Nova made due to the patent breach. The award was among the biggest offered in Canada and was the first instance of so-called springboard profits (profits earned after the patent expires but are attributable to the fact that the infringement allowed the company to establish production and carve-out a market share before the patent lapsed) being awarded in Canadian law in a case which could have wide-ranging impact to other patent infringement disputes.

11月18日消息，加拿大最高法院驳回了塑料行业诺瓦化学公司就专利侵权案中向陶氏化学公司支付6.45亿加元（约合4.82亿美元）的上诉。加拿大最高法院维持了下级法院的裁决，根据诺瓦因侵犯专利而获得的利润，判给陶氏6.45亿加元。据悉，该金额是加拿大判赔最高的赔偿额之一，也是加拿大法律首次出现所谓的“跳板利润”（在专利到期后获得的利润，但可归因于侵权行为使公司在专利失效前建立生产和开拓市场份额）的案件，或将对其他专利侵权纠纷产生广泛影响。

Patagonia Inc, the high-end outdoor clothing retailer, filed a lawsuit accusing Gap Inc of illegally copying the "iconic" snapped flap pocket it has used on fleece outerwear for more than three decades. In a Tuesday complaint filed in San Francisco federal court, Patagonia said Gap is willfully and deliberately selling fleece jackets that mimic its flap pocket and rectangular "P-6" logo without permission. Patagonia said Gap's actions undermined its goodwill, and were intended to confuse shoppers into believing it made the jackets or let the retailer use its trademarks. The lawsuit seeks to recoup lost profits and unspecified damages, and halt further infringements.

高端户外服装零售商Patagonia提起诉讼，指控Gap非法复制其30多年来用于羊毛外套的“标志性”翻盖口袋设计。Patagonia本周二向旧金山联邦法院提交了一份诉状，称Gap未经允许，故意销售模仿其带有翻盖口袋设计和矩形“P-6”标志的羊毛夹克。Patagonia表示，Gap的行为削弱了其商誉，目的是为了迷惑消费者，让消费者相信是Gap制造了这款夹克，或者让该零售商使用其商标。Patagonia要求Gap弥补其损失的利润、未明确数额的损害赔偿、并停止进一步的侵权行为。

YouTube TV subscribers in California, Arizona and elsewhere have sued the Walt Disney Co in California federal court, alleging the media company's business agreements with competitors have artificially pushed up how much consumers pay across the market for live television streamed over the internet. The proposed class action filed on Friday said Disney's control of both Hulu, the country's second-largest live streaming pay television provider, and the sports network ESPN has allowed the company "to set a price floor" for the market and to "inflate prices marketwise by raising the prices of its own products." Disney requires streaming providers such as YouTube TV to include ESPN as part of a base package, and the plaintiffs claimed they "paid prices for their YouTube TV subscriptions that were higher than they would have been absent Disney's anticompetitive conduct." The complaint said there are about 5 million YouTube TV subscribers paying "anticompetitive inflated" subscription fees.

加州、亚利桑那州等多地的YouTube电视用户在加州联邦法院对迪士尼公司提起集体诉讼，指控迪士尼与竞争对手签订的商业协议人为地抬高了整个市场消费者对网络电视直播的付费。根据该诉讼，迪斯尼对全美第二大直播付费电视提供商Hulu，和体育网络电视ESPN的控制导致其有能力“设置市场的价格下限”并“通过提高自己产品的价格来抬高行业市场价格”。迪士尼要求YouTube TV等流媒体提供商将ESPN作为基本套餐的一部分，这些用户声称，“迪士尼的反竞争行为导致他们为YouTube TV订阅支付的价格高于本应支付的价格”。起诉书称，约有500万YouTube电视用户为这种“反竞争行为”买单，支付了过高的订阅费。