13 May 2021
Laws & Regulations
CNIPA Issued Amendments to Several Regulations Governing Patent Applications (Draft for Comments) 国知局发布《关于规范申请专利行为的若干规定修改草案(征求意见稿)》
Date: 2021-05-06
Recently, the CNIPA published the "Draft Amendments to Certain Provisions Regarding the Regulation of Patent Applications (Draft for Soliciting Comments)" (the "Draft") for public comments until 6 June 2021.
The Draft supplements and improves the definition of abnormal patent applications and further clarifies the types of abnormal patent applications, including:
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Simultaneously or successively submitting multiple patent applications that are obviously the same in terms of inventive content, or are essentially formed by a simple combination of different inventive features or elements;
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The submitted patent application contains fabricated, forged or altered invention-creations, experimental data or technical effects, or plagiarising, simply replacing or patching up existing technology or designs;
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The content of the invention-creation submitted is randomly generated mainly through computer programs or other technologies;
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The content of the invention-creation is intentionally formed to evade patentability examination, which obviously does not conform to technical improvements or practical design, has no actual protection value, and is inferior, piled up, or unnecessary;
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The invention-creation of the submitted patent application is obviously inconsistent with the actual research and development capabilities and resource conditions of the applicant and inventor;
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Multiple patent applications which are substantially related to or controlled by a specific applicant are submitted in a scattered, sequential way or filed in different places in order to evade the regulatory measures against irregular patent applications;
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Transferring the patent right or right to apply for a patent for an improper purpose, or falsely altering the inventor or designer of the patent;
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Patent agencies, patent agents, or other institutions or individuals acting as agents, inducing, instigating, helping others or conspiring with them to implement various types of abnormal patent applications;
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Other abnormal patent application acts and related acts that violate the principle of good faith and disturb the normal order of patent work.
Source: http://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2021/5/6/art_75_159129.html
Arbitration is also the preferred method of dispute resolution for cases involving China because foreign judgments are not enforceable there. While the Chinese courts are an option – and despite the substantial improvement in the Chinese IP litigation system – many parties prefer to arbitrate dispute rather than litigate.
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen intense cooperation efforts in the pharmaceutical and life sciences areas as well as significant leaps in the development and use of technology, all of which may in the longer term lead to disputes over the scope and terms of the cooperation agreements and rights to inventions and other developments.
Rouse’s Global Head of Dispute Resolution, Doug Clark, will talk about how he sees the future of IP dispute resolution in Asia, focussing on China, as well as the various options for arbitration IP disputes in Asia. In doing so he will discuss key issues that have arisen in recent arbitration disputes he has handled both as an arbitrator and as counsel.
Global Head of Dispute Resolution, Rouse
dclark@rouse.com