Last Friday (10/3), our Vice President Jennifer Che met with Grace S N Lau of the Institute for Translational Research of HKSTP and the HKSTP community to discuss the fundamentals of IP and how “common” early-stage business/R&D activities can hurt your IP.
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Breaking News: China passes Fourth Amendment to the Chinese Patent Law
19 October 2020After 12 years, the Fourth Amendment to the Chinese Patent Law has passed and will be in effect on 1 Jun 2021. After years of multiple draft amendments that moved in various directions, we FINALLY have some clarity on what patent protection is going to look like in China in the coming future. Many of […]
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The Secret Prior Art Trap: A Case Study on Conflicting Applications in China
13 November 2025In 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 […]
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China Divisional Practice
17 June 2019China allows the filing of divisional applications but under specific circumstances. Most importantly, divisional applications can usually only be filed voluntarily during the prosecution of the original parent application. Once the parent application is granted or withdrawn, no additional voluntary divisional applications may be filed. However, divisionals can be filed to pursue subject matter not […]
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China Releases Details on Patent Term Extension, Deferred Examination and More in the Latest Draft Implementation Rules of the New Chinese Patent Law
11 December 2020The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) is moving forward at breakneck speeds aiming to get all the necessary pieces in place for the June 1, 2021 date when the new 4th Amendment of the Patent Law will come into effect. Most recently, this means a flurry of drafts coming out from CNIPA, including, but […]
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