1.  China customs seizes over 25m IPR-infringing items in January-April

China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) has seized 25.41 million items of goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights (IPR) in the first four months of 2021 amid the country's stepped-up IPR protection.

A total of 18,800 batches of such goods were impounded during the Jan-April period, the GAC said.

Customs nationwide approved 4,491 applications for IPR registration during the period, of which 3,930 applications were related to trademark rights, GAC data showed.

The GAC has pledged stronger IPR law enforcement, saying more focuses will be put on cross-border commerce, express delivery and other key channels, as well as various transportation modes.

In the first quarter of 2021, the country confiscated 13.33 million goods suspected of IPR infringements.

Source: Xinhua

2. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published the "Notice on the Participation of Patent Agent Qualification Examination for Foreigners in Pilot Areas of Patent Agency Opening to the Outside" on its websiterecently. The notice pointed out that foreigners who work or study within the pilot areas of Beijing, Suzhou, Nanjing, and Guangzhou and meet the requirements can take the patent agent qualification examination.

Source: IPR Daily