SIPO Offers Digital Access Service for Priority Documents
The State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC (SIPO) has started operating as a depositing office and an accessing office under Digital Access Service for Priority Documents (DAS) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) from 1 March 2012. Established and administered by WIPO's International Bureau, DAS offers an electronic exchange service providing digital network access for the priority documents among participating patent offices.
For the applicants, it means they may opt for this digital alternative to providing paper priority documents to participating patent offices:
1. Where SIPO is an Office of First Filing (OFF), the applicant of a patent application (for invention or utility model) may request SIPO, as a depositing office, to prepare and deposit the application in a digital library to be accessed by other participating offices;
2. Where SIPO is the Office of Second Filing (OSF), the applicant of a patent application (for invention or utility model) claiming a foreign priority may request SIPO, as an accessing office, to retrieve priority documents via DAS, provided that the applicant has authorized SIPO for the access to the documents. The priority documents acquired in this manner shall be deemed as patent application documents furnished by the applicant in accordance with Article 30 of the Chinese Patent Law.
As of February 2012, participating patent offices include IP Australia, Danish Patent and Trademark Office, Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland, UK Intellectual Property Office, WIPO’s International Bureau, Japan Patent Office, Korean Intellectual Property Office, Swedish Patent and Registration Office, and US Patent and Trademark Office.
