PTO To Critique China's Patent Enforcement

Encouraging public insight to pour forth, the PTO has requested comments from inventors regarding personal experiences in enforcing patent rights in China. The PTO will use these public comments to prepare a report on the patent enforcement landscape in China.

The PTO held a series of roundtables in several Chinese cities this past summer to develop experience-based knowledge into enforcement of patent rights in China. The specific topics of the roundtables included:

1. the ability to acquire and enforce utility model and design patents in China,
2. the process of evidence collection and preservation in Chinese courts,
3. the ability to obtain damages and injunctions in Chinese courts,
4. the enforceability of Chinese court orders, and
5. administrative patent enforcement in China.

Now, the PTO is extending an invitation to any member of the public to submit written comments of personal experiences in China dealing with each of the above five patent protection topics.The PTO notice in the Federal Register, published October 17, explains:

To ensure that the USPTO receives a wide array of views, the USPTO would like to invite any member of  the public to submit written comments on China’s patent enforcement system, including, but not limited to, the five specific issues listed above. Examples of firsthand experience using China’s patent enforcement system, and recommendations on ways to improve the system, are encouraged. Based on these comments, the USPTO intends to produce a report that details the patent enforcement landscape in China and identifies any challenges faced by U.S. innovators, together with recommendations for improving the system.

Written comments can be e-mailed no later than November 4 to IP.Policy@uspto.gov, or mailed to Mail Stop OPEA, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 USA, Attention: Elizabeth Shaw.