The State Council Legislation Plan for 2018 was released recently. The Plan specified that four drafts of laws including the amended Patent Law would be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation while 11 lower-hierarchy Regulations including the Patent Representation Regulation would commence their formulation and amendment. The current Patent Representation Regulation was issued and implemented by the State Council in 1991, and has been playing an important role in regulating patent representation activities and safeguarding the interests of clients. The Regulation needs to be amended to meet the development of society The Regulation was listed on the?tier-1 to-do list of the State Council Legislation Plan for five straight years from 2012 to 2016. In February 2016, the State Council issued a decision, eliminating the proceedings of local IP authorities' approval of establishment of a patent firm, a rule under the Patent Representation Regulation. In a bid to avoid any discrepancy between the separately-amended rules as such and the Regulation, the State Council lined up the amendment of the Regulation high on its agenda.

Source: China IP News