On November 10, 2020, the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Draft Revised Patent Examination Guidelines (Second Draft for Solicitation of Comments) (专利审查指南修改草案(第二批征求意见稿)). The Patent Examination Guidelines are the Chinese equivalent of the USPTO’s Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. Highlights include: excluding artificial intelligence entities from inventorship; clarifies patentable subject matter for diagnostic methods; clarifies prior art found on the Internet; clarifies technical means for inventions related to computer programs; and adds involuntary deferred examination for invention patent …
Category: Patents
Artificial Intelligence Cannot Be Patent Inventor in China’s Draft Amended Patent Examination Guidelines
In China’s Draft Revised Patent Examination Guidelines (Second Draft for Solicitation of Comments) (专利审查指南修改草案(第二批征求意见稿)), Artificial Intelligences (AIs) cannot be listed as inventors for Chinese patent applications. (The draft Patent Examination Guidelines are similar to the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure in the U.S.) The current draft was released by the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on November 10, 2020 with comments due by December 10, 2020.
Chinese Patent Bar Exam Postponed in Western China Due to COVID-19 Outbreak
On November 6, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced the postponement of the Chinese patent bar exam in Western China. Specifically, the exam scheduled for November 14 – 15, 2020 to be held in Urumqi in Xinjiang will be postponed due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in Shufu County and Akto County of Xinjiang. However, no new date has been announced for the Xinjiang testing site. Other testing sites will remain open.
China’s Operation Blue Sky Patent Attorney Rectification Campaign Bears Fruit
In follow up to the Notice of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on Deepening the “Blue Sky” Action and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Intellectual Property Service Industry (国家知识产权局办公室关于深化“蓝天”行动 促进知识产权服务业健康发展的通知) issued May 8, 2020, the CNIPA is now publicizing that local Intellectual Property Offices have fined 56 Chinese patent firms a collective 2,455,067 RMB for operating while unlicensed. The patent firms are located in Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Jilin, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Hubei, and Guangdong. Fines usually …