Advertisement China’s National People’s Congress Passes Amended Criminal Law Adding an Economic Espionage Article and Increasing Prison Time for Intellectual Property Crimes Tuesday, December 29, 2020 On December 26, 2020, the Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress of China voted to pass the “Amendment to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China (11)” (中华人民共和国刑法修正案(十一)), which will go into effect on March 1, 2021. The Criminal Law includes several articles for intellectual property crime and the amendments increase the maximum sentencing term. The amendments also add a new article somewhat similar to the US’ Economic Espionage Act potentially in effect if not in wording.