Effective December 19, 2019, Hong Kong will launch a new patent system that includes a new “original grant patent” (OGP), substantive examination for short term patents (STPs), and maintains the current re-registration system based on patents from China (CN), the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Patent Office (EPO) that designate the United Kingdom. The new patent system is based on the Patents (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 passed on June 10, 2016 and Patents (General) (Amendment) Rules 2019 issued on March …
Category: Patents
New China Patent Examination Guidelines Effective November 1, 2019
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) formally announced the newly amended Patent Examination Guidelines (“Guidelines”) effective on November 1, 2019. The Guidelines were amended to improve patent quality and efficient examination. Highlights 1. Examiner interviews are made more available, allowing applicants to request interviews anytime during substantive examination. 2. Applicants may request expedited examination pursuant to “Regulation on Patent Prioritized Examination.” 3. For same-day filing of invention and utility model patent applications, by default, the invention patent application is …
China National IP Administration (CNIPA) Extends Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program with Iceland and Egypt
CNIPA has extended the PPH pilot program with both Iceland and Egypt for 5 years each through June 30 2024. The China-Iceland PPH pilot was launched on July 1, 2014 and was extended for the first time on July 1, 2016 for a period of three years until June 30, 2019 while the China-Egypt PPH pilot was launched on July 1, 2017 for a period of two years until June 30, 2019. While the US has a PPH with Iceland, …
Best Patent Practices For US Companies With Chinese R&D
Chinese and U.S. patent law have significant differences. This article will discuss some of the incentives and long-term patent-related risks facing U.S. companies with research and development centers and inventors in China. Inventor Remuneration Article 16 of the China Patent Law requires employers (or other entity assigned patent rights) to provide inventors with reasonable remuneration. Articles 76- 78 of the Rules of Implementing the Patent Law provide a minimum of 3000 RMB (about $440) to be paid within three months …