China Examination Guide Inventions Patent Law Proposed Changes Updates and Changes

17 November 2022

China Announcing More Proposed Amendments to the Examination Guidelines in 2022

by

Ms. Audrey Cheung

Ms. Yolanda Wang

Ms. Jennifer Che

About the Authors

Ms. Audrey Cheung

Chinese Patent Attorney (Qualified)

Audrey is a qualified Chinese Patent Attorney and assists in patent drafting and prosecution in areas such as chemistry, material science, medical devices, biochemistry, and biology.

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Ms. Yolanda Wang

Principal

Yolanda is a Chinese Patent Attorney and a Chinese Patent Litigator who can represent clients before the courts in China. She has over 16 years of IP experience, including 14 years at Eagle IP. Yolanda oversees the China patent prosecution team at Eagle IP and focuses on advising foreign and local clients on patent rights, portfolio management, patent prosecution, and filing strategy worldwide. Her practice includes patent invalidation oral hearings before the Patent Review Board (PRB) at CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration, formerly SIPO).

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Ms. Jennifer Che

President and Managing Director

Jennifer is a US Patent Attorney with a deep, multi-faceted understanding of the biopharmaceutical industry. She has a strong track record of driving creative and unique global IP strategies for various types of products, research collaborations and business development deals. Having worked as a scientist, patent attorney, and executive over her 20-year career, Jennifer has a deep appreciation and understanding for how to devise IP strategies that take into account both the technical as well as the long-range business needs of an organization.

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It’s been a year and a half since the new Chinese Patent Law came into effect (1 June 2021). Although various versions of draft Examination Guidelines have been released, thus far no official finalized versions have been confirmed. On October 31, 2022, yet another new list of proposed amendments was published¹, this time consolidating the previous sets of proposed changes from 2020 to 2021 to the Examination Guidelines. As this version looks closer to a finalized version, we are cautiously optimistic that an official set of guidelines may soon be released. As such, we think it’s worth looking a bit more closely into this current draft version.

Below are a few of the new proposed changes that are worth our attention:

New rules for designs in view of China signing onto the Hague agreement
New rules and new examination standards for utility models
New rules for re-examination/invalidation proceedings
Eligibility requirements for patent term compensation, for regular patents (“PTA”) and drug patents (“PTE”)
Further requirements for genetic resources obtained in China
Detailed procedures regarding open licensing

Other important changes include:

New exception to the patentability of diagnostics
Sequence listings adopting ST.26 standards
Electronic receipt dates and associated deadlines (e.g., no more 15-day mailing period!)

Stay tuned for our upcoming articles for detailed discussions about these changes! If you have questions or concerns regarding any specific sections of the proposed Examination Guidelines or the new Chinese Patent Law, please feel free to reach out to us, and we will be happy to provide a personalized consultation.

This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice or a legal opinion on a specific set of facts.

Notice on Revised Guidelines for Patent Examination (Second Draft for Comments) (Published 31 Oct 2022), https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2022/10/31/art_75_180016.html ↩︎

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China Announcing More Proposed Amendments to the Examination Guidelines in 2022

Ms. Audrey Cheung

Ms. Yolanda Wang

Ms. Jennifer Che

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