Patent law changes

Chinese inventors who wish to apply for patents for their inventions in foreign countries must go through government scrutiny first to find out if the inventions employ national secrets, according to a draft amendment to the country's patent law, Xinhua reported.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, recently discussed proposed amendments to the 23 year-old Patent Law at the opening session of its bimonthly meeting.

The amendment says inventions that have not been subject to security checks will not be granted Chinese patents, and that those who leak national secrets by failing to apply for the security checks will be punished according to the law. The amendment applies to all inventions completed in China.

Another proposed amendment is that foreign nationals or institutions must find a patent agency to represent them in applying for patents in China and in other patent-related matters.

The amendment says patent holders or other concerned parties may ask the court to stop acts that breach their patent rights before a lawsuit could be filed. The court must make a decision within 48 hours.

The Patent Law has had two major revisions in the past.

(Source: China Daily)

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