We had a wonderful time attending a one-day staff retreat at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, including a workshop, Effective Communication through DISC, led by Ms. Gentiana Cheung, a professional consultant from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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China’s Newest Examination Guidelines: Novelty and Inventive Step for Compounds (Part II)

29 April 2021
This is Part II of a three-part series summarizing the Examination Guidelines that were released by the CNIPA on January 15, 2021, one year to the date of Phase 1 of the US and China Economic and Trade Agreement. That agreement included specific provisions where China "shall permit pharmaceutical patent applicants to rely on supplemental […]

Updates on Hong Kong Patents Examination Guidelines in 2024

29 February 2024
The Intellectual Property Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (HKIPD) has recently made several updates to the Hong Kong Patents Examination Guidelines, effective from 26 January, 2024. These changes mainly clarify and reflect the Registry’s current practices regarding patent examination for Standard Patent (R) […]

The Secret Prior Art Trap: A Case Study on Conflicting Applications in China

13 November 2025
In patent prosecution, the concept of a "conflicting application" or “secret prior art” plays a critical role in determining the patentability of an invention. This article explores the framework for assessing conflicting applications under Chinese patent law, with a comparative perspective on the approaches adopted in the United States. Case Background: The Image Encoding Dispute […]

CHINA: How Prohibiting "Illegal" Inventions Runs into Food Safety Law

22 October 2021
Chinese Patent Law has an interesting provision that specifically prohibits patent protection on “illegal” or “immoral” inventions. What does this mean, exactly? According to Article 5.1 of the Chinese Patent Law, “no patent shall be granted for an invention that contravenes any law or social moral or that is detrimental to public interests.” On its […]
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