The Utility Model (UM) in China has always been a popular choice for patent filing due to its relatively low cost and speed of prosecution. The UM prosecution only includes a preliminary examination, which is essentially a mini (stripped down) version of an invention application’s substantive examination.[1] With the simplified examination process, UMs are typically granted without issue. Unfortunately, this may soon not be the case anymore. Heightened Inventiveness Standard + Formal Search The CNIPA[2] has recently published an official letter in response to a Proposal from a CPPCC member regarding problematic patents and malicious competition based thereon in the lithium battery industry.[3][4] The key messages stated in these letters…
