Insights
China’s amended Trademark Law brings stronger protection
By Ai-Leen Lim, Joanna Lu | Posted on July 1, 2026
By the end of 2025, the number of valid registered trademarks in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) had reached 49.877 million. Meanwhile, malicious trademark registration activities remained high, with over 200,000 enforcement actions against bad-faith trademark filings recorded nationwide in both the first halves of 2023 and 2024. The revision of the...
Three Years of the Unitary Patent and UPC: What the Data Reveals
By Anders Heebøll-Nielsen | Posted on June 17, 2026
Three years after the Unified Patent Court opened its doors, the unitary patent system is taking shape in practice. This article looks at how the new options are used, where opt-outs are declining, and what the first wave of UPC activity reveals about Europe’s evolving patent landscape. The Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (2013/C 175/01)...
China’s Trademark Law Overhaul Forces a Strategic Reset for Pharma and Medtech Brand Owners
By Ashley Zhao | Posted on June 9, 2026
China’s draft fifth revision of the Trademark Law shifts from a registration-focused to a use- and governance-driven model, curbing bad-faith filings, unlocking idle trademark resources, and strengthening enforcement. This will significantly affect pharma and MedTech firms’ brand strategy, portfolio governance and enforcement planning in China’s key healthcare market. Life sciences companies rely on trademarks for...
Patagonia vs. Pattie Gonia: Trademark Questions Behind a Viral Dispute
By Monika Trombitas Andersson | Posted on May 29, 2026
The trademark dispute between outdoor giant Patagonia and environmental activist and drag artist Pattie Gonia has made headlines across the globe. Without commenting on the merits of the pending US proceedings, the case has triggered a wave of genuinely interesting trademark questions in the public conversation. In this article, we take a closer look at...
Don’t Leave Your Exit to Chance: Why IP Strategy is the Foundation of the “End Game”
By Emily Chamberlain, Niklas Mattsson | Posted on May 18, 2026
What separates a successful life science exit from a missed opportunity? Often, it isn’t just the quality of the science, but the timing and precision of the IP strategy. At the recent “The End Game” event, hosted by Ventures Accelerated in Stockholm, AWA’s Niklas Mattsson and a panel of international investors, including Josefine Persson (HealthCap),...
CNIPA’s Enhanced Administration on Trademark Use
By Ai-Leen Lim, Julia Wang | Posted on March 30, 2026
Since 2025, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has intensified trademark use regulation via new guidance and enforcement mechanisms, notably issuing the Notice on Strengthened Management of Trademark Use (the “Notice”) on November 21, 2025, followed by its Interpretation of the Notice (the ‘Interpretation’) on December 30, 2025, which serve as binding enforcement directives...
Why the beauty industry cannot underestimate Freedom to Operate analysis
By Ylva Strandberg | Posted on March 16, 2026
The beauty industry faces fierce competition from new brands and fast product cycles, yet continues to grow, with projections reaching $580 billion by 2027 (McKinsey and Company). In this environment, Freedom to Operate (FTO) analysis ensures new products or branding can be launched without infringing on others’ intellectual property. Having a true understanding of the...
Everything you need to know about China’s Patent Term Extension (PTE)
By Hongyue Li | Posted on March 10, 2026
The pharmaceutical field is one that relies most heavily on patent protection. The development of new drugs involves high costs, long cycles, and significant risks. Without patent protection, new drug R&D enterprises would find it difficult to recoup R&D costs and earn reasonable profits, thereby reducing their incentive to develop new drugs. Meanwhile, due to...
How to use intellectual property to protect plants
By Isa Böttiger, Ylva Wikmark | Posted on March 4, 2026
When most people think about intellectual property in the plant sector, they think about patents. But for plant breeders, seed producers, and agri-tech innovators, the reality is both more nuanced and more interesting. Plant innovations can benefit from overlapping IP protection strategies — a web of different rights that, when used together, can deliver far...
Why the fifth major revision to China’s Trademark Law requires a strategy shift for brand owners
By Ashley Zhao | Posted on February 4, 2026
On December 22, 2025, the Draft Amendment to the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China was submitted to the 19th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress for deliberation for the first time. As the fifth major revision since the Trademark Law came into force in 1983, this amendment...
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