Tougher provincial IP law takes effect

The province's new patent regulation took effect on Jan 1 to promote the application of industrialpatents and provide stricter IP protection. The law covers the creation, application, protectionand management of patents and services related to patents. The previous regulation focused onpatent protection and management. The new law also lays out the responsibilities andprocedures for online and TV shopping platforms to deal with patent infringement andcounterfeits in the e-commerce sector.