China Unveils Comprehensive 2026 Blueprint to Strengthen Intellectual Property Framework

On May 16, 2026, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published the 2026 Plan for Building a Strong Intellectual Property Nation (2026年知识产权强国建设推进计划). This annual implementation document is issued by the Office of the Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference on Building a Strong Intellectual Property Nation. It operationalizes the longer-term Outline for Building a Strong Intellectual Property Nation (2021–2035) by specifying the intellectual property tasks to be undertaken by Chinese government ministries, agencies, and judicial bodies during the 2026 calendar year.

The Plan enumerates 106 tasks, assigning lead and participating roles to departments including CNIPA, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Justice, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, among others. The first-listed department in each task is designated as the lead.

The Plan is structured around seven focus areas: (1) improving the intellectual property legal and policy system; (2) strengthening IP protection through judicial, administrative, and collaborative enforcement mechanisms; (3) enhancing market mechanisms for IP creation, commercialization, and financing; (4) improving IP public services and the IP service industry; (5) cultivating IP culture and talent, including foreign-related patent attorneys; (6) participating in global IP governance; and (7) strengthening organizational support, including a five-year evaluation of the Outline’s implementation.

In the first focus area, the Plan calls for accelerated revisions to key laws and regulations. These include the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Regulations on the Protection of Integrated Circuit Layout Designs, with CNIPA and the Ministry of Justice responsible. It also prioritizes research and legislative groundwork on geographical indications, led by CNIPA.

Further legislative updates target the Regulations for the Implementation of the Copyright Law, Regulations on Collective Management of Copyright, and Regulations on the Protection of the Right to Disseminate Information Online. The Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Ministry of Justice are tasked with these revisions, alongside formulating new regulations protecting copyright in folk literature and art.

The Plan promotes revisions to the Trial Measures for Voluntary Registration of Works and the Implementation Measures for Administrative Penalties for Copyright, under the Publicity Department’s lead. It also advances updates to the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties, managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Customs protection regulations are slated for revision by the General Administration of Customs. The Plan also advances legislative processes for protecting traditional knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, involving the Ministry of Justice, National Health Commission, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and CNIPA.

National defense patent regulations are to be revised by the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission and the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

The Plan mandates completion of the 15th Five-Year Plan for Intellectual Property and its sub-plans, with statistical monitoring of implementation by CNIPA and Joint Conference members. The Publicity Department is responsible for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Copyright Work.

CNIPA will also formulate key measures to strengthen IP protection and utilization, and develop policy documents on IP public services to support comprehensive innovation. Guidelines for standard-essential patent applications and licensing will be created jointly by CNIPA and the State Administration for Market Regulation.

The State Administration for Market Regulation will promote opinions on strengthening trade secret protection. The National Health Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine will issue opinions to enhance the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in medical and health institutions.

Environmental initiatives include implementing the Major Biodiversity Conservation Projects (2025-2030), led by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

This comprehensive 2026 Plan reflects China’s strategic commitment to building a robust intellectual property ecosystem through legislative reform, enforcement campaigns, market development, talent cultivation, and international cooperation.