Suggested tougher method of substantive examination for Utility Model and style Patent Applications in China.
Inside a bid to enhance the caliber of Utility Models and style Patents granted in China, china Condition Ip Office (SIPO) has submit proposals to impose tougher examination needs for Chinese Utility Model and style Patent applications.
Presently, a design patent (also referred to as an authorized design in Europe) application in China doesn’t undergo substantive examination. Which means that, even though the Chinese Patent Law needs a design to become new and clearly not the same as any of the existing designs known all over the world, in practise, a Chinese Examiner doesn’t conduct any searching during study of the look application. In line with the current Examination Guidelines, the Examiner is just needed to look at the applying in line with the application details and just what is regarded as common understanding of the general consumer.
Equally, although a software application Model (also referred to as a petty patent in america or innovation patent around australia) application is needed to become novel, creative as well as practical use underneath the Chinese Patent Law, the amount of examination requirement is similarly low.
Thinking about an Invention Patent application, that is something like a standard patent obtainable in countries or regions like the United kingdom, Europe or even the US, often takes around three to six many years to grant, grant of the Utility Model could be acquired relatively rapidly, typically between 10 to 18 several weeks. A Design Patent could be even faster. As a result, filing such applications in China is a faster, cheaper and simpler method of getting patent protection to have an invention, when compared with an Invention Patent. Both types of patent protections happen to be showing popular. This Year, SIPO granted 408,000 Utility Models and 380,000 Design Patents.
However, this might be going to change. Inside a public consultation issued in Feb 2013, SIPO has established that the possible lack of substantive examination for kinds of applications have caused patents to become granted to inventions or designs which are already known, or caused patents to become granted to inventions or designs more often than once, i.e. double patenting.
To be able to improve the caliber of Utility Models and style Patents, SIPO is proposing to amend the Examination Guidelines so that Examiners ought to conduct searches on existing technologies and fashions when analyzing such applications. In addition, the rules suggested to become amended so that Examiners aren’t restricted regarding how similarly info are acquired.
It’s envisaged when SIPO would be to implement its suggested changes to tighten examination procedures for kinds of applications, the expense and time needed to determine such applications right through to grant will also be prone to increase.
