As business continues to globalize and intellectual property (IP) rights become an increasingly important part of corporate strategy, understanding changes to patent law in key markets is essential. This is exemplified by the Fourth Amendment to the Chinese Patent Law which came into effect on June 1, 2021, allowing partial claiming in design patent applications.
Prior to this amendment, the examination of most Chinese partial claim design patent applications had been held up by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). This was because the CNIPA had not published its formal Examination Guidelines for partial design claiming. Therefore, understanding the implications for those seeking to protect their IP in China is crucial for legal professionals working in some of the world’s biggest corporations and law firms.
Corporations seeking to protect their designs in China should understand that partial design protection allows the protection of an individual component of a product, separate from the product as a whole. This signifies a major shift from previous Chinese patent law, which required a design patent to be granted for a complete product, not individual components.
The ramifications of this change are twofold. Firstly, corporations with innovative and unique design elements now have the opportunity to protect these elements separately from the whole product. This could, potentially, extend the life-cycle of a patent as competitors would not be able to use the design element in their own goods. Secondly, it provides increased flexibility for corporations in a country where IP protection is, all too often, difficult to enforce.
Thus, it is crucial for legal professionals to understand and stay updated about these significant changes in patent law for efficient navigation around design rejections in China.
For more information on the details and potential effects of these changes, please refer to this detailed post by Quarles & Brady LLP.