China (Partially) Switches to Common Law System?

Posted on Categories New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation

Update: Susan Finder of the Peking University School of Transnational Law points out that from 2020, the SPC has required judges to engage in similar case search in certain types of cases. As can be seen from points IV 1 and 2 of the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Searches for Similar Cases to Unify the Application of Law (Provisional), priority is given to guiding cases and SPC typical (example/exemplary/model) cases. Similar case search supplements searching for legislation and judicial interpretations. …

Translation of China’s Amended Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law

Posted on Categories New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation, Patents

On December 21, 2023, China’s State Council released the Amended Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law (国务院关于修改《中华人民共和国专利法实施细则》的决定).  The Implementing Regulations explain how several provisions of China’s amended Patent Law of 2021 will be implemented. The Regulations become effective January 20, 2024.  A translation of the Regulations, courtesy of Jerry Xia at Gen Law, follows.

China’s National Intellectual Property Administration Releases Amended Patent Examination Guidelines – Introduces Inventiveness Examination of Utility Models

Posted on Categories New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation, Patents

On December 21, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Patent Examination Guidelines (专利审查指南) in conjunction with the Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law and effective January 20, 2024. The Guidelines are similar to the U.S. Patents & Trademark Office’s Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) by providing guidance on the procedure and examination of Chinese patent applications.  Based on a first reading, one of the major changes outlined in the Guidelines is an introduction of a preliminary …

China’s National Intellectual Property Administration to Allow Third-Party Challenges to Pharmaceutical Patent Term Extensions

Posted on Categories New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation, Patents

On December 21, 2023, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced (关于专利权期限补偿和专利开放许可相关行政复议事项的公告(第560号)) it would allow third parties to challenge the grant of patent term extension (PTE) for Chinese pharmaceutical patents effective January 20, 2024. PTE extends the life of a patent due to a potentially lengthy regulatory review process. Per the recently released Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law PTE is calculated by deducting 5 years from the interval between the date of filing of the patent application and date …