Proposed Examination Guidelines for the New Chinese Patent Law – Topic 2: Genetic Resource Restriction How Will the Tightened Genetic Resource Restrictions Affect Your IP In 2019-2021, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (“MOST”, or the Science Ministry) established several laws and regulations with respect to biosafety[1] and human genetic resources management[2] (collectively referred as “biosafety laws” herein for simplicity), namely to restrict (1) the collection, use and exportation of genetic resources as well as (2) the collaboration and sharing of genetic resources with foreign entities. To integrate the new biosafety laws and the country’s various regulations, the CNIPA has incorporated some additional updates regarding the genetic resource requirements in…
- China, China Patent Office, CNIPA, Examination Guide, Invalidation, Patent Law, Proposed Changes, Updates and Changes
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First Ever Successful Invalidation Challenge Due to Unauthorized Foreign Filing
What does an invention “completed” in China mean? China and the US are similar in that both countries highly value national security, and thus have rules regulating the exportation of technology and information from within their borders. This includes new inventions that arise from within their respective borders. As such, both governments require inventors who create IP within their borders to obtain approval by requesting a foreign filing license (or “confidentiality examination request“ in Chinese) before they can file a patent application in a foreign jurisdiction first (i.e., “export” the “technology”). In China, “inventions or utility models, of which the substantive content of the technical solution is completed within the…
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How the Chinese Patent Office Rejected a Plate-Making Method Based on Food Safety Law
Previously we published an article about CNIPA rejecting a patent application claiming a food that could also be used to treat or prevent diseases based on the food’s alleged non-compliance with Food Safety Law. China’s Food Safety Law includes a provision which states any use of a composition as a food must be strictly separated from any medicinal use. Recently, we have noticed a worrying trend of such “food safety” type rejections impacting a broader class of inventions, even for inventions that are not directed towards the food itself. Here is one such case. Manufacturing Methods for Making a Plate The patent application[1] at issue is directed towards a method…