The Certification and Accreditation Administration of China ("CNCA") and the State Intellectual Property Office ("SIPO") have jointly released the Administrative Measures for the Certification of Intellectual Property Rights (the "Measures"), effective from April 1, 2018.
The Measures are comprised of the certification agencies and personnel, code of conduct, implementation of the certification, certification certificate and mark, supervision and administration, etc. Further, the Measures provide that an agency engaging in the certification of intellectual property rights shall be legally established, meet requirements set out in the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation and the Administrative Measures for Certification Agencies, have the relevant professional capacity for carrying out activities regarding the certification of intellectual property rights, and obtain the approval of the CNCA before carrying out certification-related activities within the approved business scope. Such agency shall fulfill five types of responsibilities, including "conducting the certification within the approved scope". In addition, the Measures explicitly state that in carrying out certification-related activities, certification agencies shall carry out certification-related activities, make certification conclusions, and ensure the completeness, objectiveness and truthfulness of the certification process, in accordance with basic standards and rules on the certification of intellectual property rights, but shall not extend, shorten or omit the processes specified in the basic standards and rules on the certification.