CPA Senior Attorneys Invited to Speak in QBPC Seminar on High-Quality Patent Drafting

On 18 September 2024, the Patent and Innovation Committee of the Quality Brands Protection Committee of China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (QBPC) held the seminar "High-quality Patent Application Drafting and Prosecution Practice". The seminar was hosted by Mr. Xia Xinjun, vice chairman of the Patent and Innovation Committee of QBPC. Two senior attorneys of our firm China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd. (CPA), namely, deputy general manager Mr. Xiong Yanfeng and Shanghai Office director Mr. Tan Zuoxi, were invited to give speeches for the seminar, which has attracted the online participation of more than 50 representatives from QBPC member companies.

Mr. Xiong in his presentation emphasised that patent drafting is not just about the presentation of technical content, but also the careful layout of legal rights and interests. He delved into the topic of claim construction as a core element of patent infringement determination, and combining the provisions and practice of Supreme People's Court's judicial interpretation concerning the application of law in the trial of patent infringement, granting and confirmation cases, Mr. Xiong expounded the basic principles of patent drafting in the light of patent protection maximisation, including making and reviewing the drafting of a patent application from the perspectives of patent granting, confirmation, and infringement as well as competitors' relevant patents. Among others, Mr. Xiong also shared the clues to drafting functional features and dependent claims.

In his talk Mr. Tan focused on high-quality patent drafting. He analysed the key factors that affect the success rate of an application, stressing that good patent drafting calls for a delicate blend of legal strategy and technological innovation. With the help of case studies, Mr. Tan elaborated on his suggestion of three-step preparation prior to patent drafting and observation of four basic requirements for quality drafting as well as four key points in claims writing. He further shared how to write clear technical solutions, precise claims, and supportive specifications. In addition, Mr. Tan also gave his insights on the defence of inventiveness in patent examination and advised on the various means to effectively present the inventiveness of the application to thereby increase the odds of a grant.

During the Q&A session, Mr. Xiong and Mr. Tan welcomed questions raised by the audience and earnestly replied those questions, which related to, among others, techniques in drafting specific sections of the description and recent patent examination trends, including depiction of technical effect in US, EPO, and Chinese applications, disclosure of the invention in German applications, stricter patent examination in China in recent years, and amendments of Article 33 of the Chinese Patent Law.