On November 1, 2022, the CNIPA issued the 2nd draft of the examination guidelines for public consultation. This draft was first published on November 10, 2020, and the first public consultation was held on August 3, 2021.
One of the more interesting aspects of this draft amendment is that it stipulates the exclusion of the grant of patent rights in the following circumstances:
- Fabrication of data, technical effects and other relevant
technical contents, or the realization of simple functions with
complex structures, etc. which obviously do not conform to the
common sense of technical improvement;
- Falsification of documents to prove that the grace period for novelty is not lost;
- Copying or piecing together prior art and existing designs;
- Those that submit multiple applications with apparently identical content in bad faith.
In such circumstances, applications will be rejected as breaching the principle of good faith, which is taken as an important basis as a means of improving the quality of patent applications.
More information can be found here:
https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2022/10/31/art_75_180016.html
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.