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In July 2025, the Supreme People’s Court, by way of guiding the adjudicatory practice of local people’s courts, promulgated the Judicial Interpretation (Fa Shi [2025] No. 11) (https://ipc.court.gov.cn/zh-cn/news/view-4545.html), which clarifies the legal status of the Patent Evaluation Report and confers upon it general binding effect. The Judicial Interpretation provides that where a Patent Evaluation Report concludes that the patent-in-suit does not meet the statutory conditions for the grant of patent rights under the Patent Law, “the people’s court shall not, solely on that basis, directly rule to dismiss the action; instead, it shall provide necessary explanations in light of the specific circumstances of the case and render a judgment in accordance with the law.”
This Interpretation, which came into effect on 1 August 2025, clarifies the position of the Patent Evaluation Report in litigation: it serves only as one of the evidentiary references for assessing patent validity, rather than as a precondition or threshold for filing or docketing a case. This provision clarifies the rules for local people’s courts when handling patent infringement cases involving the submission of Patent Evaluation Reports and negative conclusions therein, both at the case-filing stage and during trial, thereby enhancing the transparency and consistency of judicial application.
Overview of the Patent Evaluation Report Regime
Within the framework of China’s patent system, utility model and design patents are not subject to substantive examination prior to grant, and the stability of the rights conferred is therefore often questioned. In response to this systemic challenge, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) established the Patent Evaluation Report regime. Upon the request of the patentee, an interested party, or an alleged infringer, CNIPA conducts a systematic search of the prior art and carries out an in-depth analysis, thereby issuing a professional opinion as a reference on the validity of the patent.
In practice, the Patent Evaluation Report is often misunderstood as a “judgment on patent validity.” In fact, the Report is merely a technical opinion issued by an administrative authority, whose legal effect is far inferior to that of a judicial judgment or administrative ruling. With the continuous increase in the number of patent infringement cases, the application of the Report in judicial proceedings has attracted growing attention. In particular, where the Report reaches a negative conclusion, whether the court should still accept the relevant lawsuit has become a focal point of controversy in practice.
The Patent Evaluation Report Is Not an Administrative Decision
Continuing the above discussion on the Patent Evaluation Report regime, it is necessary to further clarify the legal nature of the Report and its position within administrative and judicial procedures.
The Report is issued by CNIPA and is a technical document formed on the basis of a relevant request, following a search, analysis, and evaluation of the prior art relating to a utility model or design patent. Under the current Patent Law and its implementing regulations, the Evaluation Report is neither an administrative decision nor a judicial instrument; its conclusions are not binding and cannot serve as a direct basis for declaring a patent invalid.
If the requester believes that the conclusions of the Report are erroneous, he or she cannot seek relief through administrative reconsideration or administrative litigation. However, CNIPA allows the requester to file a correction request within two months of receipt of the Report and to submit relevant evidence and written arguments for reference. CNIPA may decide to correct or partially correct the conclusions of the Report, or to decline to make any correction. It is noteworthy that, for the patentee, if the validity of the patent cannot be clarified through the correction procedure, the patentee can only passively wait for a subsequent patent invalidation proceeding initiated by a third party to further present arguments and defenses.
Submission of the Patent Evaluation Report Is Not Mandatory
Pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Patent Law, when a patentee of a utility model or design patent initiates an infringement action, the people’s court or the administrative authority in charge of patent affairs “may” require the submission of a Patent Evaluation Report. This wording clearly reflects the non-mandatory nature of the Report.
In specific judicial practice, in the 2018 patent infringement case (Yue Min Zhong No. 2282) decided by the Guangdong High People’s Court, the court expressly addressed the alleged infringer’s contention that the court of first instance had committed a procedural violation by failing to require the patentee to submit a Patent Evaluation Report for the patent-in-suit [1]: where the patentee has submitted the patent certificate, proof of payment of annual fees, and other materials sufficient to demonstrate that the patent-in-suit is in force, the court shall afford protection in accordance with the law and is not required to mandatorily demand the submission of a Patent Evaluation Report. This case further confirms that the Evaluation Report is not necessary evidence at the stage of initiating litigation or handling infringement disputes, and that the court may exercise flexible discretion based on the circumstances of the case.
To unify standards for judicial application, the Supreme People’s Court, in its 2020 “Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Patent Dispute Cases,” explicitly provides: “Where the plaintiff, without justifiable reasons, fails to submit [the Report], the people’s court may rule to suspend the proceedings or order the plaintiff to bear the possible adverse consequences.” This provision emphasizes that the court may exercise discretion with respect to the adverse consequences of a patentee’s failure to submit the Evaluation Report, rather than mandating its submission.
In addition, in order to improve the institutional design and expand the scope of application of the Evaluation Report, the fourth amendment to the Patent Law in 2020 formally included alleged infringers as eligible requesters of the Patent Evaluation Report. This amendment effectively filled the gap in the adversarial nature of the original regime in litigation, enabling defendants, when faced with utility model or design patents, to proactively request a technical Evaluation Report to strengthen their defenses.
The Multi-Dimensional Influence of the Patent Evaluation Report
As a bridge between patent validity analysis and the resolution of infringement disputes, the Patent Evaluation Report plays an important role in patent enforcement practice. Although its conclusions do not have binding legal force, the Report has significant reference value at multiple levels, including judicial adjudication, administrative enforcement, commercial operations, and public perception.
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Influence on Judicial Enforcement
In patent infringement litigation, the court may refer to the contents of the Patent Evaluation Report but may not base its judgment solely on the Report’s conclusions. Even if the Report is negative, the patentee may still enforce its rights in accordance with the law. However, if the patentee fails to respond actively, the court may suspend the proceedings pending the outcome of patent invalidation proceedings, and in certain exceptional circumstances, the patentee may even be found to have engaged in malicious litigation.
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Influence on Administrative Enforcement
When local intellectual property offices handle disputes involving utility model or design patent infringement, the Patent Evaluation Report is often treated as core evidence, affecting their case-filing decisions and handling efficiency. In addition, when applying to customs for intellectual property recordation and protection, customs authorities also require the submission of a Patent Evaluation Report with a positive conclusion to ensure successful IP customs recordation and subsequent seizure of suspected infringing products.
When initiating patent infringement complaints on e-commerce platforms (such as Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo), platforms generally require the submission of a Patent Evaluation Report as proof of the validity of the right. In particular, a Report with a positive conclusion often becomes a necessary condition for initiating the complaint procedure.
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Influence on Commercial Operations
In the process of registering open licenses for patents, the patentee must provide CNIPA with an Evaluation Report containing a positive conclusion [2], thereby sending a signal that the “rights are stable and can be implemented with confidence.”
Furthermore, in patent pledge financing or investment and M&A transactions, banks and investment institutions also generally require the provision of a Patent Evaluation Report. If the Report’s conclusion is negative, it may significantly depress the valuation of the patent or even cause the transaction to fail.
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Influence on Public Perception
As a technical document publicly disclosed by CNIPA, the Patent Evaluation Report is available for public inspection and copying. Accordingly, its conclusions also exert a certain influence at the societal level and may affect public perceptions of the stability of the patent right and the credibility of the patentee. Patentees should not overlook this.
In summary, although the conclusions of the Patent Evaluation Report do not have legal effect, the Report has important reference value in judicial adjudication, administrative decision-making, and commercial operations.
Patentees Should Prepare Adequately and Respond Proactively
In light of the still multi-dimensional influence of the Patent Evaluation Report, it is advisable that patentees of utility model or design patents take the following measures before requesting a Patent Evaluation Report or initiating enforcement actions, so as to reduce the risk of receiving a negative conclusion:
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Engage professional institutions to conduct a patent stability assessment in advance to anticipate the likely conclusions of the Report;
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If the Report contains obvious errors or biased conclusions, apply for correction within two months of receipt of the Report and submit sufficient evidence and written arguments;
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Proactively submit the Evaluation Report in the course of enforcement or litigation to avoid adverse inferences by the court due to non-submission;
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Even if the Report’s conclusion is negative, the patentee may still file an infringement action in accordance with the law and should not abandon enforcement solely on that basis;
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Where the conclusions of the Report are unfavorable, strengthen the evidentiary record by supplementing expert opinions, patent validity statements, and the like, so as to enhance the credibility of the patent’s stability.
Conclusion
Although the Patent Evaluation Report does not have binding legal force, as a professional analytical document on patent validity issued by CNIPA, it still occupies an important and indispensable position in the process of patent enforcement. Before submitting a request for an Evaluation Report, patentees should engage professionals to conduct a patent stability assessment and make adequate preparations and responses for the possibility of a negative conclusion.
At the same time, it is recommended that future legislation further improve the relevant procedures and provide more opportunities for communication between patentees and CNIPA. For example, after a preliminary analytical conclusion of the Report is formed, patentees could be allowed to respond and provide supplementary explanations, thereby clarifying the scope of patent protection, safeguarding procedural relief rights, and enhancing both the fairness of the administrative procedure and the credibility of the Report’s conclusions.
