Connecting the Dots: China’s Evolving Standard for Numerical Sub-Range Amendments
22 July 2026Managing global pharmaceutical or chemical portfolios requires navigating China’s notoriously rigid standards on the "same subject matter" requirement for priority and claim amendments. A recent invalidation decision (No. 588094) issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) concerning a pharmaceutical patent provides clarity on how numerical ranges and later added experimental data are evaluated […]
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Is “Comparable” the New “Unexpected”? China’s SPC Relaxes Inventive Step Standard for Breakthrough Therapeutics
14 July 2026How the Supreme People's Court Established a New Benchmark for Unexpected Technical Effects in a Landmark Diabetic Nephropathy Case Proving inventive step for pharmaceutical compounds, especially a second medical use, remains one of the most challenging aspects of patent prosecution in China. When the prior art discloses a compound's general therapeutic properties, how can an […]
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