Patent protection in China is absolutely of great importance even if a launch of the respective product in the Chinese market is not yet on the horizon. In order to obtain patent protection in China, the inventor or his employer has to file a Chinese patent application. To ensure full protection from infringement, the application should be filed before the innovation is disclosed to the public by marketing or selling.
Patent protection has to be requested before a respective product is introduced to the market. However, it is less often considered how a product may appeal in other world markets, and that these may not extend automatic protection for an invention registered back home.
Preparing a Patent Infringement Complaint
Filing a patent infringement complaint before the People’s Court requires very careful planning and preparation for the case. If a company encounters patent infringement in China, as a first step, it is suggested that you hire an experienced patent lawyer to conduct an in-depth infringement analysis and review the validity of the patent at issue.
Generally speaking, it is recommendable to file lawsuits with the People’s Court of Shanghai or Beijing because these courts have considerable experience in handling patent infringement disputes compared to other courts around the country. In order to bring a case to a preferred jurisdiction, the best option is to try to find out if the infringer has a business presence in any of these jurisdictions. The plaintiff can also make a request to the People‘s Court before or after lodging the lawsuit to stop infringing acts immediately, in order to prevent further losses during the lawsuit.
Practical tips for obtaining effective patent protection in China
(1) Translation: Translation accuracy is always a major issue for patent applications filed by foreign entities in China. Unfortunately, it is common that a patentee finds out the invention, as defined in a Chinese patent, deviates substantially from the original patent application as a result of inaccurate translation. To avoid translation errors, especially in a patent application for an important invention, it is prudent to seek professional confirmation of the translation of the patent specification in Chinese.
(2) Patent Co-operation Treaty applications: The text of the original PCT specification is accepted as the authentic text of a national Chinese patent application. It is recommended to use the PCT route to file patent applications in China.
(3) Amendments during prosecution: China has a very stringent approach regarding added subject matter and/or amendments made during prosecution. Extending the scope of protection beyond that of the original application may result in a patent being invalidated.
(4) Claims: There are very strict rules on post-grant amendments of claims. Claims can only be amended by features which are already present in the dependent claims. Dependent claims should include as many useful technical features as possible to cater for possible post-grant claim amendments.
Contact Us
If you have further inquires, please do not hesitate to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to tannet-solution@hotmail.com. You are also welcome to visit our office situated in 16/F, Taiyangdao Bldg 2020,Dongmen Rd South, Luohu, Shenzhen, China.
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