Premier Li Keqiang has recently signed an Order of the State Council to release the amended Regulations on Patent Agency (the "Regulations") which will take effect from March 1, 2019.
Improvements are made from the perspective of the entry threshold for patent agency practices, the code of conduct, the supervision of services, etc., to relevant systems in the Regulations. Among others, the Regulations optimize the practicing entry system for patent attorneys, stating that a Chinese national may sit for the national patent attorney qualification examination if he or she holds a junior college degree or above for a major in science or engineering that is awarded by an institution of higher learning; he or she will receive a Patent Attorney Qualification Certificate issued by the administrative department of patents of the State Council, if he or she manages to pass the exam; and he or she could seek practices in this sector when relevant statutory requirements are fulfilled. Meanwhile, the Regulations improve the practicing entry system for patent agencies, expressly stating that a patent agency, in respect of its organization form, shall be a partnership firm or a limited liability company; to engage in the patent agency business, an entity shall fulfill statutory requirements, and apply to the administrative department of patents of the State Council by submitting relevant materials to obtain the practice license for patent agencies.