Service scope

Ÿ   Prior art search and patentability study

Ÿ   Drafting and prosecution of application for patent (including Chinese, PCT, and foreign patent applications)

Ÿ   Patent reexamination and patent invalidation

Ÿ   Patent confirmation litigation

Ÿ   Litigation, administrative resolution, and customs protection relating to patent infringement disputes

Ÿ   Customs recordation of patent

Ÿ   Patent search and watch, patent infringement analysis, and due diligence in mergers and acquisitions

Ÿ   Comprehensive management consultation for patent-related matters (such as patent portfolio management, annuity management, patent strategy management)

Ÿ   Patent licensing and technology transfer

Ÿ   Miscellaneous patent-related legal services 

Service team

CPA's patent team assembles a host of professionals who are familiar with domestic and foreign intellectual property (IP) cases and combine rich IP knowledge with solid practical experience. The team currently has 200-plus patent attorneys, and more than half of them have been in related practice for over 10 years, with expertise covering all aspects of technical sectors including computer, communication, electronics, physics, machinery, chemistry, materials, medicine, and biology. Furthermore, a number of them have the valuable experience of formerly working as examiners at the State Intellectual Property Office (predecessor of China National Intellectual Property Administration), and 150-plus in the team also possess patent litigator qualification.

The patent team's service scope covers patent application consultation, patent search and analysis, patent mining and portfolio management, patent drafting and filing, responding to office action, reexamination and invalidation proceedings, administrative litigation, annuity management, as well as patent registration in Hong Kong and Macao. Working languages of the team include English, Japanese, German, French, Chinese, and Cantonese.

CPA's patent team is one of the earliest professional teams in China qualified with the capability to handle foreign-related patent agency matters. It now provides full-range patent-related services to thousands of overseas clients, including Fortune 500 companies. The team members are well-versed in IP laws in China as well as major industrial countries and regions such as the United States, Japan, and Europe. The team maximises the value of clients' inventions and wins trust from clients. To date, the team has handled hundreds of thousands of patent filings on behalf of foreign clients, and secures a grant rate higher than the industry average. Members of CPA's patent team have an international perspective, regularly visiting law firms in the United States, Europe, and Japan for further education and learning, which allows them to stay updated with the latest IP developments overseas and actively engage in international IP cooperation.

The patent team has established strong business relations with law firms in major countries around the world. Through these extensive overseas collaboration resources, the patent team has built a whole chain foreign-related patent service system to provide full-range services to domestic enterprises, especially in assisting their "going out". Under the team, an overseas portfolio unit was formed, staffed by patent attorneys with extensive experience in overseas patent-related matters, serving domestic enterprises with services including overseas patent portfolio management, patent application drafting, responding to office action issued by foreign patent offices, and early warning analysis of overseas patents. At present, its patent filing service has extended to scores of countries and regions including the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, India, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Gulf countries. Leveraging its members' experience in thorough and meticulous management of overseas patent filing, solid technical skills and commitment to quality service, the overseas portfolio unit assists domestic enterprises in filing their patent applications at reduced costs, securing the quality of patents, and safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests overseas.

The patent team also has a Hong Kong unit, which handles registration, filing of application, responding to examination opinion, maintenance, and retrieval for standard patents, short-term patents, original grant patents, and designs with the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department, as well as serving the technological innovation entities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with all-inclusive patent agency services to facilitate the entities' exploitation and protection of inventions in the region.

The patent team is supported by a competent procedure management team whose members are well-acquainted with both the Chinese and overseas patent prosecution and examination procedures and are proficient in using at least one foreign language. More than half of the personnel have years of experience in both Chinese and foreign patent application procedural work and are responsible for tasks including filing, granting and fee payment, annuity management, and other patent-related and document processing procedures. The high-calibre, experienced procedure management team also has the aid of the firm's self-developed, constantly updated computerised patent management system which has accumulated nearly decades of procedure management experience, to thereby bring secure, efficient, and accommodative customised services to the clients. 

In the span of four decades, the patent team has won many praises from the industry. It has been recognised consistently for years as "Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year and a top tier patent prosecution firm in China by Managing Intellectual Property (MIP); designated a highly recommended firm for patent prosecution in China by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) and a recommended firm in IP litigation by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific; and has achieved the status of a tier one firm in the patent field  and a first-tier firm in IP non-contentious category in China according to Asian Legal Business (ALB) and Chambers and Partners respectively.