Commentary on the Latest Revisions to the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Chinese Patent Law

Abstract

Abstract To implement its patent law amended in 2020, China revised the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Chinese Patent Law on 11 December 2023. Since the revisions concern many important and controversial topics in the patent field, it is necessary to evaluate how they will impact the interests of patentees and related parties domestically and worldwide, and how China can improve its patent system to not only meet the expectations from Chinese society but also accelerate the innovation process in the world community. To achieve that goal, this report discusses the benefits of the changes, the controversies behind them, the factors and opinions that affected the revisions, as well as the unaddressed issues and problems. Specifically, it highlights the important revisions in the principle of good faith, the request for the delayed examination, the priority system, patent term compensation, international design application, service inventions, and the open licensing system. It then briefly discusses the minor changes in the ex officio examination conducted by the patent administrative department, the patent right evaluation report, information disclosure of generic resources, and the responsibility of the patent administrative department. Meanwhile, this report points out the unsolved issues and problems in the definition of new drugs, the compensation rules for the delays caused by the marketing review of new drugs, the legislative basis of the ex officio examination conducted by the patent administrative department in the patent invalidation procedure, and the reform of the re-examination and invalidation procedures.