The Greater China IP Updates ¡V February 2022

By Lyndon 

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China Steps up Anti-Plagiarism Actions

China now has several measures to ensure the patent field is protected against counterfeit.  One way is to obtain a patent evaluation report regarding patentability (for utility models and design patents). Currently, the patentee, the accused infringer and an interested party can apply, but the CNIPA is considering widening the scope even further.  After the report is rendered, any entity or individual may ask for access to the files, which means the results will be made public.  Another way is filing a third party observation and, as well as being kept unpublicized, it is also applicable to pending applications only.  This way allows interested parties to submit his or her observation to CNIPA and explain the reasons why the patent application of concern is thought unpatentable.  Thirdly, it is possible to report to the CNIPA.  This way is applicable to pending applications only and any person can take this action.  Upon receipt of this report, CNIPA will begin a special examination procedure and, if the patent application of concern is verified to be irregular, the applicant will be notified to immediately suspend his illegitimate act.  The applicant has the right to submit a rebuttal or withdraw the application.  Fourthly, obtaining a patent search report is also possible by any person, and that way is applicable to pending applications and granted patents.  If the Patent Search Center finds any prior art references, it will issue an analysis report which is not available to the public.  The requestor of the report may submit relevant evidence to the PSC.   Finally, one can file an invalidation action.  This can be done after a patent has been granted, and any entity or individual can file.  The conclusion of an invalidation action will be published publicly.  Also, there are oral proceedings in an invalidation action, and attending oral hearings is an attractive option for some parties.  From these five ways, it can be seen that the CNIPA wishes to deal with irregular patent applications that include fabrication, forgery, counterfeit, patchwork amongst other improper filings..

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