Posts Tagged: "International"

Why NPEs are necessary for China to dominate its domestic chip industry

NPEs are uniquely positioned to help China by attacking foreign entities to clear the way for Chinese companies by exerting pressure in ways that only NPEs can. Even if Chinese semiconductor companies had the necessary patents and experience to engage their foreign competitors, they would risk retaliation from these foreign parties. NPEs, on the other hand, can unilaterally attack foreigners without fear of retaliatory patent suits. Although there are a few of antitrust issues, I do not believe that NPEs that act in the best interest of China should, or will, be attacked by the NDRC or any other antitrust agency in China.

Could or should the USPTO adopt the EPO problem-and-solution approach for assessing obviousness?

There is a plausible case that the US law on obviousness is indeed compatible with the EPO problem-and-solution approach. It could even be said that the steps of the problem-and-solution approach appear to have been inspired by US law and practice! Under present working styles, USPTO examiners concentrate on the claims and spend little or no time reading the description. If they are to initiate obviousness rejections using the problem-and-solution format they would have to change habits and consult the description to locate any effects related to the distinguishing features.

Michael Jordan prevails in trademark case, earns right to use Chinese character mark for his name on merchandise

On December 8th, famed basketball star Michael Jordan was partially successful in a legal action filed in Chinese courts over the use of his name and likeness on shoes and sportswear marketed by a domestic Chinese firm. The case is further proof of a major change in the fortunes of foreign intellectual property owners in the highest courts of the world’s second-largest economy. The Jordan trademark suit goes back to 2012 when the suit was filed against Qiaodan Sports, a sportswear manufacturer operating thousands of retail locations in China which was founded in 2000 according to business information reported by Bloomberg.

The quest for patent quality: European inventive step and US obviousness

In Europe and the US, patentability depends on a showing of inventiveness that is based on similar legal requirements but practice differs substantially and the resulting patent quality varies… At the USPTO, patent applications are rejected for obviousness (35 USC §103) already in a first Office Action by an examiner and his/her supervisor… Over in Europe the examination of inventive step begins with an opinion following which the applicant is invited to comment/amend.

Revised Chinese patent guidelines mean better prospects for software, business methods than U.S.

In late October, China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) released a set of guidelines for Chinese patent examiners that revises the last guidelines put in place in 2010. Although SIPO has made the revised guidelines available online in the Chinese language only, analysis of those guidelines by the European Patent Office (EPO) and others indicates that, in some important ways, the new guidelines represent a veritable inverse of the current patent examination environment seen here in the United States… China is about to become friendlier to software patents in particular and patent owners more generally by reducing the complexity of prosecution procedures and making more information publicly available. Given the large number of patent applications being filed with China’s patent office, a high percentage of which are not filed with foreign offices as well, and the growing preference for China as a patent infringement litigation venue, it’s likely that these new guidelines are further proof of the growing divide of IP regimes in the United States and China which, if left unchecked, will probably be to the detriment of the U.S. and its economic prospects in future years.