CPA Successfully Defends Client's Patent Right through Administrative Route
Around the past World Intellectual Property Day in April, we were glad to receive the good news that China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd. (CPA) had won two administrative patent infringement cases it represented a Taiwan client before Beijing Intellectual Property Office (BIPO). Under China's current dual-track IP protection system, administrative resolution of patent infringement disputes is an important alternative to the judicial route.
The patent in the said cases is directed to a signal processing device in the computer field. Our client, upon finding that three companies in Beijing and Shenzhen were producing, selling, and offering to sell products inflicting its patent right, entrusted our firm to initiate two lawsuits against these companies before BIPO. However, in the midst of the administrative disposal process, the alleged infringing parties filed a request for invalidation of the patent in suit with the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).
In general, infringement cases involving the computer field are rather tricky in terms of comparison between technical features, in particular so when it comes to means-plus-function features. Upon receiving the entrustment of the cases, our attorneys diligently studied relevant technical field and claims. By conducting experimental comparison analysis, they eventually proved that the product in suit fell within the protection scope of our client's patent. This comparison analysis was then presented at the oral hearing, and was conducive to convincing the collegial panel of the infringement. Accordingly, the infringing parties were ordered by BIPO to stop the infringing acts of producing, selling, and offering to sell the product in suit.
The said cases, complicated by parallel handling of infringement dispute disposal, invalidation request, and administrative litigation, are typical of patent infringement cases in China. Our attorneys, leveraging their professional expertise and experience in practice, helped the client maintain the validity of its patent in entirety during the invalidation process as well as gain satisfactory results in subsequent administrative litigation. This fully shows our firm's competence in meeting challenges of these involved cases.
