In light of recently released Chinese patent statistics showing at least eight to 10 months to first office action and an average of 22.7 months to final disposition from the date of filing,[1] applicants may wish to accelerate examination of their patent applications. However, unlike the multitudes of routes for accelerating patent prosecution in the United States, China has two main programs to accelerate patent prosecution: the Patent Prosecution Highway[2] and prioritized examination.[3] Both programs are free to participate in …
Author: Aaron Wininger
Aaron Wininger is a Principal and Director of the China Intellectual Property at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner.
China 2020 H1 Patent Data Indicates China Likely to Remain Top International Filer in 2020
In follow up to a press conference on July 9, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration released detailed patent data for the first half of 2020. In 2019, China displaced the U.S. as top Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) user and looks likely to remain the top user in 2020. For the first half of 2020, China, as receiving office (RO) for the PCT, received 29,548 international PCT applications. Annualized, this would be 59,096 PCT applications for the full year. …
China Releases Patent Filing Data for First Half of 2020 Showing Full Recovery from Coronavirus-Induced Drop
In a press conference on July 9, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released high-level patent filing data for the first half of 2020. Highlights included 683 thousand invention patents filed, 217 thousand invention patents grants, and 29 thousand Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications were filed. The number of Chinese invention patent applications now slightly exceed 2019 year on year (649,129 invention patent applications were filed in H1 2019) showing full recovery from the prior drop in filings …
China Releases Draft Amended Patent Law for Comment
China’s National People’s Congress has released Amendments to the Patent Law (Second Review Draft) for comment on July 3, 2020. Comments are due August 16, 2020. The draft amendment to China’s patent law will significantly increase damages by introducing punitive damages, raising the statutory damages, and increasing the statute of limitations. Major amendments to the patent law focus on designs, damages, patent term adjustments, patent term extensions and patent linkage.