Posts in China

U.S., EPO and Chinese Software-Related Patent Grants Remained Steady in 2023

As an update to my previous posts from 2017, 2019, 2020, March 2021, August 2021, 2022, and 2023, it has now been almost a decade since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank decision. Yet the debate still rages over when a software (or computer-implemented) claim is patentable versus being simply an abstract idea “free to all men and reserved exclusively to none” (as eloquently phrased 76 years ago by then-Supreme Court Justice Douglas in Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kalo Inoculant Co.).

Chinese Court’s Global SEP Royalties Decision Signals Broader Threat to Western Tech Innovation

Reasonable compensation for standard essential patent (SEP) holders is crucial to create the incentives for adequate investments in standards. In particular, high-quality standards have underlain the development and proliferation of the global wireless technologies that have played such a central role in the innovation-driven growth of the internet economy. (For the key role of strong standards in technological innovation, see, for example, here, here, here, and here). It follows that the discriminatory reduction of compensation for SEP holders would reduce their incentives to participate and invest in standard setting. This in turn would reduce quality of future standards that will be key to economic growth and vitality.

Examining Upcoming Changes to the Implementing Regulations of the Chinese Patent Law

Recently, amendments to the Implementing Regulations of the Chinese Patent Law were issued and will take effect from January 20, 2024. The Regulations align with the revisions made to the Patent Law in 2020 and provide further guidance. The main changes to the new Regulations, as compared with the 2010 version of the Regulations,  can be summarized as follows.

How China’s New Patent Laws are Working at the Two-Year Mark

In the high-stakes world of global competition, China is emerging as a key battleground, making the protection of intellectual property rights more crucial than ever. With its recent revisions to its patent enforcement and damages laws, China took a decisive step towards a more rigorous patent system that favors patentees, both domestic and foreign. This new landscape challenges businesses to adapt and reassess their strategies in the face of these transformative changes…. The latest modifications enable businesses not only to receive increased damages for infringement but also recover legal costs and punitive damages. Thus, in a post-COVID business environment, organizations should reevaluate their patent enforcement strategies within China.

ITIF Report Urges G7 to Take Japanese Data Initiative from Concept to Action

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a report last week that calls on the G7 countries to bring Japan’s “Data Free Flow with Trust” (DFFT) initiative to life. According to Japan’s Digital Agency, the goal of DFFT is to promote the free flow of data through transparency while ensuring security and IP rights. The ITIF wrote, “building an open, rules-based, rights-respecting, and innovative global digital economy will depend on a small group of ambitious countries working together—such as at the DFFT—in a flexible format to draw in relevant international organizations and other interested countries and stakeholders.”

Vidal Tells Senate IP Subcommittee There Will Be Movement on ANPRM Proposals Soon

The Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property today held a hearing on Oversight of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with USPTO Director Kathi Vidal as the sole witness. Only a handful of senators questioned Vidal, and only one significantly challenged her in questioning. The hearing differed considerably from the House IP Subcommittee’s Oversight Hearing in April, where Vidal was repeatedly taken to task on the Office’s then-recently issued Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM).