(1) Confidential examination of patent applications to foreign countries.
According to the Patent Law, any unit or individual who intends to complete an invention-creation in China and apply for a patent in a foreign country shall first report to the patent administration department of the State Council for confidentiality review. Therefore, the decision made two specific provisions:
First, in view of the increasing transnational R&D cooperation, in order to correctly define the scope of confidentiality review, the "invention or utility model completed in China" as mentioned in the Patent Law is defined as "invention or utility model whose technical scheme is substantially completed in China"; Second, specific provisions are made on the confidentiality review procedure, which not only ensures the normal conduct of the confidentiality review, but also ensures that the applicant can learn the conclusion of the confidentiality review in the shortest time, so as to apply for a patent in time.
(2) Information disclosure system of genetic resources
The revised patent law adds provisions on genetic resources. In order to implement this regulation, it is decided to define the definition of "genetic resources" according to the Convention on Biological Diversity, define the meaning of "inventions and creations completed by relying on genetic resources", and stipulate the way to disclose the source information of genetic resources.
(3) About the patent evaluation report system
The revised patent law changes the retrieval report system of utility model patent right into the evaluation report system of utility model and design patent right. In order to facilitate the parties to obtain the patent evaluation report, the Decision stipulates the formal requirements for the parties to request the report and the time limit for the patent administrative department of the State Council to make the report.
(IV) On the Compulsory License System The revised Patent Law, in accordance with the provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and other relevant international treaties, has increased the types of compulsory licenses and clarified the scope of application of compulsory licenses. In order to implement the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and meet the needs of the public health crisis, the "Decision" clearly defines the expressions such as "patent is not fully implemented" and "patented drug". In addition, the compulsory licensing of drug patents is clearly stipulated to meet the requirements of relevant international treaty conditions and procedures.
(V) Administrative Punishment for Counterfeiting Patents The revised Patent Law combines the act of counterfeiting other people's patents with the act of counterfeiting patented products and methods with non-patented products and methods, and stipulates corresponding administrative penalties. In order to implement this provision, the "Decision" clearly defines the act of counterfeiting patents, and also stipulates: "If the sale of products that are not known to be counterfeit patents can prove the legal source of the products, the department in charge of patent work shall order them to stop selling, but they shall be exempted from the penalty of fines."
(6) Provisions on review procedures.
The revised Patent Law has made some adjustments to the patent application, examination procedures and authorization conditions. Accordingly, the "Decision" has been supplemented and refined, mainly involving several aspects such as the writing requirements of patent applications.
(seven) other amendments to the relevant provisions.
In order to encourage innovation and promote the development of the patent industry, the decision also took the following three measures:
First, four charging items, such as application and maintenance fees, have been reduced to reduce the burden on the parties.
The second is to relax the restrictions on the priority enjoyed by the parties.
The third is to improve the reward system for service inventions. In terms of the way and amount of remuneration, the stipulation of agreed priority is introduced, which embodies the principle of party autonomy. At the same time, the scope of application of statutory standards has been expanded from the original state-owned enterprises and institutions to all units, and the amount of statutory awards for job inventors and designers has been increased.