China's new patent law is about to take effect on June 1, 2021, but the implementing regulations have not yet been formulated. CNIPA issued transitional provisions on May 24, 2021. Important provisions include the following.
Patent term adjustment
To use this provision, the date of announcement of invention patent grant must be on or after June 1, 2021. The request for patent term adjustment needs to be filed within 3 months from the date of the announcement of patent grant.
Patent term extension
As of June 1, 2021, a patentee may request for patent term extension, within 3 months from the date of marketing approval of new drugs. The filing date of the patent can be prior to June 1, 2021. However, if the date of marketing approval of the drugs is May 31, 2021 or earlier, it is not possible to request for patent term extension for the related patent.
Designs
For design patent applications, filed on or after June 1, 2021,
- partial designs can be filed;
- domestic priority can be claimed from an earlier Chinese design application (the filing date of the earlier Chinese design application can be prior to June 1, 2021)
- the term of design patents is 15 years (the term of design patents with filing dates of May 31, 2021 or earlier, is 10 years, counted from the filing date).
Open License
As of June 1, 2021, a patentee may declare to offer an open license for its patent (the date of announcement of patent grant can be prior to June 1, 2021).
Patent Right Evaluation Report
As of June 1, 2021, an accused infringer (not any third party) can request CNIPA to issue a patent right evaluation report.
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.