China | CNIPA Revokes Patent Agent Licenses in Crackdown on Irregular Agency Practices

On July 20, 2026, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published a series of administrative penalty decisions against patent agents involved in serious violations of the Patent Agency Regulations, underscoring the agency's continuing campaign against irregular patent agency practices and abnormal patent applications.

In one of the decisions, CNIPA found that the sanctioned agent, an employee of a company in Baotou who had obtained a patent agent qualification certificate in 2023, used forged patent agency internship materials in June 2024 to complete practice registration and 'parked' the certificate at a Hefei-based patent agency. The agent never practiced full-time at the registered firm, never performed the statutory signing responsibilities, and neither drafted nor reviewed the applications filed under the agent's name. Of the applications filed by the agency under that name, 209 were preliminarily identified as abnormal patent applications and were withdrawn.

CNIPA further found that the agency concerned had submitted patent applications on behalf of other organizations or individuals using illegally purchased corporate and personal information to fabricate applicants, and that the sanctioned agent had signed 35 of those applications. In related decisions published the same day, two other patent agents received similar penalties for comparable conduct, including signing 37 applications of the same nature and repeatedly 'certificate-parking' through falsified internship records. One agent's request for leniency at a February 11, 2026 hearing was rejected, with CNIPA holding that cooperation with the investigation is a legal obligation rather than a statutory mitigating circumstance.

Pursuant to Article 26, Paragraph 1 of the Patent Agency Regulations, CNIPA revoked the patent agent qualification certificates of all three individuals. Because their conduct constitutes 'engaging in seriously illegal patent or trademark agency activities' under the Measures for the Administration of the List of Seriously Illegal and Dishonest Market Regulation Entities, the three were also added to that list, published through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, for a term running from July 2, 2026 to July 1, 2029. After one year on the list, they may apply for early removal in accordance with the relevant provisions.

The parties may apply for administrative reconsideration within 60 days or file an administrative lawsuit within six months; the penalties remain in force during any review or litigation. The decisions signal that CNIPA continues to treat fabricated practice credentials, certificate-parking, and abnormal patent filings as enforcement priorities in 2026.

Original Link: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/7/20/art_547_207273.html