CPA's 2 Foreign-Related Winning Cases On CNIPA's Top 10 Patent Reexamination and Invalidation Cases 2019
In concert with the 20th World Intellectual Property Day on 26 April and with a view to promoting innovation and enhancing patent protection, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has selected some exemplary cases of high guiding value from the cases it adjudicated in 2019 and announced them as Top 10 Patent Reexamination and Invalidation Cases of 2019. Among these top 10 cases, 2 were China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd. (CPA)'s winning cases, both of which being defensive invalidation cases in which we successfully maintained the validity of our clients' patents.
In one of the cases, CPA helped sustain the validity of an oral anti-tumour drug patent in China. The case involved inventive step assessment, in which the reference was found to be lacking crucial experimental data, thus incapable of proving that the prior art has the equivalent technical effect as the patent in suit. The significance of this case lies in the clarification of the rules and thoughts for the allocation of burden of proof where there is controversy over an advantageous technical effect.
In the other case, CPA upheld the validity of a standard-essential patent of the communication field in China. The invalidation decision held that in determining whether the patent could enjoy priority, attention should not be limited to textual recitation only; rather, the focus should be on whether the technical solution is substantially the same as that of the patent in suit. The significance of this case lies in the explication of the criterion for the establishment of the right of priority under the Chinese patent law. Over recent years, such criterion is especially significant in invalidation cases involving standard-essential patents of the communication field.
