The revised Guidelines for Patent Examination, a new set of rules regulating patent filings in China, will take effect on Saturday, ushering in expanded intellectual property protection forbusiness models, the internet, e-commerce and big data, experts said.
"The changes in the latest guidelines signal a major revolution in our IP legal framework,expanding patents' coverage," said Wu Handong, a renowned IP law expert and the formerpresident of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Hubei province.
Among the major amendments is one concerning business models. Under the current PatentLaw, they are generally excluded from patent claims.
Yet, according to the new guidelines, filings involving both business methods and technicalcharacteristics are now patentable.
Wu cited the United States to illustrate that there is precedence for such legislation worldwide.
Filings featuring the combination of business models and technology still need to meet thepatentability requirements of novelty, inventiveness and usefulness, he said.
A host of innovative business models in such sectors as finance, leasing, auctions, investment,marketing and advertisement are emerging amid the rapid development of internet technologies,offering more user-friendly experiences and increased efficiency in the distribution of socialresources.
Their filings can now be patented as encouragement and protection of technological solutionsconcerning business models, according to the State Intellectual Property Office.
Innovations by business models draw a throng of imitations from other enterprises keen to cashin. As a result, the innovators' accomplishments go unrewarded, as they cannot obtain justifiedreturns from their investments, Wang Honglei, an IP attorney based in Guangdong province, toldbusiness portal Caixin.
The new guidelines open a door to protection of innovative businessmodels and methods, Wang said.
Another highlight in the guidelines concerns the distinction betweencomputer programs and related inventions. The former are generallyconsidered unpatentable as they are "rules and methods for mentalactivities", while the latter are eligible for patents.
A lack of distinction between the two in the previous regulations tendedto result in rejection of patent applications for the related technologies.
Software is, in essence, a technological solution based on computerlanguage, Wang said. Before the amendment, it was a commonpractice to "bind software to hardware" in patent filings in a bid toincrease odds of approval, he said.
The amendment will change the industry practice and reduce difficulties in maintaining rights insubsequent patent disputes, he noted.
With software protection on the rise, software's value will gain more acceptance and consumerswill become more willing to pay for it, helping to create a friendly environment for developing high-quality software, he added.
In addition, the revisions also include a period extension for consulting and duplicating patentapplications, which will help to monitor processing and improve patent quality. The amendmentwill prove to be of great significance to the entire IP system, Caixin quoted Zhang Taolue, anassociate professor at the Tongji Law School in Shanghai, as saying.
The new guidelines still face challenges in implementation, Zhang said. "While advancedinternational practice can be taken as a reference, it still needs to be tested in practice."
Resouces | China Daily
