22.01.10 15:45 Age: 16 yrs

State Council of Legislative Affairs amends Patent Law

In a move to encourage domestic innovation and improve international competitiveness, the State Council of Legislative Affairs recently amended the Patent Law to expedite the process of attaining foreign patents for domestic innovations

This amendment, adopted in December of 2008 and taking effect in late October will dramatically alter the patent application process for domestic inventors, and is a major milestone in development of the Chinese intellectual property system. Inventors will now be able to apply for foreign patents before applying for Chinese patents. However; the amendment stipulated that inventors must submit their innovations to government scrutiny before seeking patents abroad to ensure that innovation is not deemed a state secret.

This new regulation is a major improvement upon the previous system in which inventors were required to apply for, and obtain domestic patents before being able to apply for foreign intellectual property rights. Now, inventors are only required to apply for government scrutiny, a process that will take no longer than four months before seeking patents abroad.

While previous amendments to the patent law have all sought to make China a more hospitable environment for foreign investment and to address the concerns of China's trading partners; this amendment marks a significant shift in that it is designed to spur on domestic innovation and growth in the fields of science and technology.

This amendment can be seen as China's attempt to make good on its 2006 Science and Technology Plan which stipulated that China would become an "innovative" economy by the year 2020 with a push towards more IP intensive fields such as research and development The Amendment also falls within the 2008 Outline of the National IP Strategy which aims to improve the nations system of Intellectual Property Laws

Mr. Edward Lehman, managing director at LEHMAN, LEE & XU, expressed his excitement about this new amendment saying that "This new amendments demonstrates China's commitment to becoming not only a leader in the global economy but a leader in world wide innovation. This move will make life much easier for Chinese innovators and we anticipate that as a result, the number, and quality of innovations coming out of China will increase dramatically."

LEHMAN, LEE & XU is the third largest corporate commercial law firm in China, established in 1992 by a group of Chinese lawyers devoted to developing excellence in the practice of law and to the founding of modern law practices in China, providing a full range of China patent services including prosecution, licensing and dispute resolution. LEHMAN, LEE & XU's patent lawyers have a wealth of experience in the patent law of China and in the international laws and conventions which govern the procurement and enforcement of patents worldwide. The Firm is recognized as a leading Law Firm providing the best and most diversified legal services and solutions to its clients. Today, LEHMAN, LEE & XU has extended its affiliate offices across China employing more than 250 licensed lawyers, patent and trademark attorneys and legal assistants.

To learn more about the Lehman, Lee & Xu, please visit to website: www.lehmanlaw.com