Both-filing, or dual filing, is a unique strategy in the Chinese patent system, through which an applicant can pursue patent protection for their technical schemes related to products via two types of applications, invention and utility model patent appli

Inventiveness is a necessary condition for the grant of a patent right. Chinese examiners usually make an assessment on inventiveness using a three-step method: first, they determine the closest prior art. They then determine the distinguishing features o

The China National Intellectual Property Administrations latest amended Patent Examination Guide was implemented on 15 January 2021. This chapter reviews the amendments to Section 5.1 of Chapter 10, Part II of the guide regarding determining the novelty o

Legitimate source defence is a common tactic employed by the party accused of patent infringement. According to statistics, the legitimate source defence is the most frequent defence in all of the patent-related civil lawsuits tried by the Intellectual Pr

For an innovative enterprise, continuously launching new products is an important way to get a return on their prior investment in research and development. To continuously develop and market new products and get profits therefrom, and also to reduce rese

Once an applicant files an invention, utility model or design patent application with Chinas National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the applicant will then obtain the rights related to the patent application, i.e. the rights of ownership o

The patent system observes the concept disclosure in exchange for protection. In order to obtain patent protection, an applicant must disclose the technology that is sought to be patented; on one hand to share the particular technologic knowledge with the

When determining whether a technology seeking protection in a patent application possesses inventiveness, an examiner usually needs to make several assessments, for example, regarding technical improvement, features and enlightenment, etc. This article di

On September 25, 2019, the National Intellectual Property Administration of China (CNIPA) announced the latest revision of the Guidelines for Patent Examination (Guidelines), and the revised Guidelines will come into effect as of November 1, 2019. To help