Aaron Wininger

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Last year, the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), (now, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA)), announced Administrative Measures for Prioritized Examination[1] (“the Measures”), which took effect as of August 1, 2017.  At the anniversary of the measures, we explain how domestic and foreign applicants can use the measures to expedite examination of their patent applications.
Continue Reading Expedited Patent Examination in China Without the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)

As of September 1, 2018, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA – the new name for the combined China Patent & Trademark Office) will no longer automatically retrieve electronic priority documents from the USPTO via the PDX system.  Instead, CNIPA will retrieve priority documents via WIPO DAS, which will require providing the DAS access code.  The access code is the 4-digit confirmation number listed on USPTO filing receipts and used in the USPTO Electronic Filing System (EFS) and does not need to be requested independently from WIPO.
Continue Reading CNIPA Switches to WIPO DAS from PDX for Electronic Retrieval of USPTO Priority Documents

On April 25 this year the China National Drug Administration (CNDA) published a proposed draft on Implementing Measures for Pharmaceutical Trial Data Protection.  The measures prevent other drug manufacturers from relying on earlier trial data to receive sales approval without permission from the owner of the earlier trial data.  The proposed draft extends the trial data protection term to up to 12 years compared with that of up to 6 years previously.  During the protection term, the CNDA will not approve marketing of the same drug[i] from a third party without permission of the owner whose drug gets a trial data exclusivity, except if the third party independently runs a trial and collects trial data.
Continue Reading China plans to increase market exclusivity term for pharmaceuticals based on improved pharmaceutical trial data protection

On March 29, 2018, the State Council issued Measures for transferring Intellectual Property rights (IPR) to foreign parties (Pilot) (hereinafter called “Measures”). The Measures are effective immediately and apply to all technical IPR (i.e., patents, registered integrated circuit layout designs, computer software copyrights and new plant varieties rights). According to the Measures, in IPR export and M&A approval process, a relevant IP department under the State Council (e.g., the State Intellectual Property Office) must conduct additional review before IPR transfer to a foreign entity or before foreign investors acquire Chinese companies that include IPR transfer.  Previously, in IPR export approval process, only non-IP departments reviewed IPR transfer. In M&A approval process, no government departments reviewed IPR transfer.
Continue Reading China tightens scrutiny on Intellectual Property transfers to foreign parties

This March, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court (the court) held that the deadline for claiming domestic priority is when an applicant completes registration formalities (i.e., pays required fees) and not later, when SIPO actually grants a resulting patent. In an administrative trial ((2015) JingZhiXingChuZi No.:2822), Richtek Electronics Co., Ltd. (Richtek) sued the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) based on a Notification that a claim to priority in a later-filed application was deemed not to have been made since the later-filed application was filed after payment of fees but before grant of the parent application.
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Continue Reading Beijing Intellectual Property Court Clarifies Deadline for Claiming Domestic Priority in China

Unlike the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) which substantially increased some of its fees as of January 16, 2018[1], China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has waived[2] some of its patent fees as of August 1, 2018.  This approach aims at reducing the financial burden to applicants and patent owners, and encouraging patent filings.
Continue Reading The Chinese State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has waived some of its patent fees as of August 1, 2018

Filing UM and Invention Simultaneously in China

For “products” (generally, mechanical inventions), Applicants can file both a utility model (UM) and invention patent simultaneously[1].The advantage of filing both UM and invention patent applications is that the UM will grant quickly (usually within 6 – 12 months since not substantively examined) thereby providing some patent protection while the invention patent application is undergoing examination, which can take several years. Note though UMs are only valid for 10 years from filing and do not protect methods.  Invention patents are generally considered more valuable than UMs since they last 20 years from filing and have a broader protection scope (i.e., can claim methods).
Continue Reading Filing Utility Model (UM) and Invention Patent Applications Simultaneously in China

On May 7th this year, China National Drug Administration (CNDA) released a proposed draft of special review and approval procedure for innovative medical devices. The procedure intends to expedite approval for medical devices if the Applicant has patents or patent applications pending in China. This draft contains several major revisions compared with the previous version issued in 2014.
Continue Reading China plans to revise the Special Review and Approval Procedure for Innovative Medical Devices

The State Council of China announced in April this year a plan to extend patent protection for up to five years for innovative drugs due to regulatory delay.  However, the State Council has not disclosed specific rules nor timetable for same.  Meanwhile, in May this year, China and the United States issued a joint statement…