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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- Accelerated Patent Examination, Cancer Moonshot Expedited Examination, Expedited Examination, Patent Law, Pharma, Pilot Program, US, USPTO
Introducing the New USPTO Cancer Moonshot Expedited Examination Pilot Program
Starting from February 1, 2023, the USPTO will begin the new Cancer Moonshot Expedited Examination Pilot Program that advances out-of-turn applications that are directed to oncology or smoking cessation. This new program will replace the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program that has been in place since 2016, and covers more technologies than only cancer immunotherapies. Applications accepted into the new program will be accorded special status in Examiner’s docket and enjoy expedited examination until the first Office action is issued (including restriction requirements). The new program is available for a non-reissue (original), nonprovisional utility application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), or an international application that has entered the national stage under…
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FOLLOW UP: Amendments to the China Patent Examination Guidelines in 2022 – Part 1: New rules for designs in view of China signing onto the Hague Agreement
Since the publication of our earlier article about China signing onto the Hague Agreement, some of our Hong Kong clients have expressed interest in taking advantage of the Hague international design application system, i.e., filing a Hague international design application with the CNIPA (Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration) as a receiving office (RO). Up until this moment, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the CNIPA[1] have been silent on whether a Hong Kong design applicant without a habitual residence or business office in mainland China would be eligible to file a Hague international design application with the CNIPA as a RO. We recently brought this matter forward to the…