The new 4th Amendment of the Chinese Patent Law came into effect on June 1, 2021. Right before that date, the Chinese Patent Office (“CNIPA”) released some “Interim Measures” to give us a taste of what was to come, though they have yet to released the actual Implementation Rules. Two months later, CNIPA finally released Draft Patent Examination Guidelines in conjunction with the new Patent Law. We have provided a summary of the key points at this link, and for the next several posts, we will explore some of those topics in greater detail. “PTA” in the Patent Law Patent term compensation for patent office delay, which we will refer…
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Breaking: China Released New Implementation Measures for the New Patent Linkage System
On July 4, 2021, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released details on the new implementation measures for early dispute resolution mechanisms for drug patents (“Patent Linkage”), effective July 4, 2021. Below is a summary highlighting key provisions and changes from the draft measures. Creation of an “Orange Book” List A new public registration platform has been created that lists “Patent Information” for all drugs marketed in China (similar to the US “Orange Book”). Drugs must be approved in China in order to be listed, and unlisted drugs cannot use these new “Patent Linkage” mechanisms. What “Patent Information” needs to be provided?…
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China Top 10 Patent Re-Examination and Invalidation Cases of 2020 CNIPA Upholds Bayer’s Rivaroxaban Patent
The development of China’s approach to patents, especially those in the pharmaceutical and biotech space, has been fascinating to watch. Those of us who have practiced in the area for a long time have been frustrated by the Chinese patent office’s overly strict rules regarding patentability (e.g., high data support standard and refusal to consider post-filing data), while at the same time being more lax on enforcement. Things have changed a lot in the past five years as China has revamped its patent system in numerous ways. The creation of an entirely new IP court system, the introduction of a new patent law (only the 4th revision in its 40+…
