In April 2012, some netizens broke the news on Weibo that the process for making edible gelatin from leather waste had been patented as early as 1991. On the afternoon of April 26, 2012, the relevant person in charge of the State Intellectual Property Office stated that the State Intellectual Property Office had accepted 10 patent applications related to the use of leather waste to extract edible gelatin, 2 of which had been approved, but both had expired.
The public can see on the State Intellectual Property Office government website that all published patent applications are original applications. Only patent applications that have been reviewed and authorized by the State Intellectual Property Office are called patents. Patent application No. 91108955.1 was submitted to the State Intellectual Property Office in 1991, but no patent rights were obtained. (Note: Patent application No. 91108955.1 is a patent application for a process for enzymatic preparation of edible gelatin from chrome tanned leather waste.)
The relevant person in charge of the State Intellectual Property Office said that in 2005, the relevant departments issued The "Hygienic Standards for Food Additive Gelatin Production Enterprises" clearly prohibits the use of waste materials after tanning in tanneries as raw materials for food gelatin. For this type of administrative regulations, the State Intellectual Property Office also gave it special consideration during the review.