Beijing Higher People's Court Issues Revised Guidelines for Patent Infringement Determination

The Beijing Higher People's Court issued on 20 April 2017 the revised Guidelines for Patent Infringement Determination, which standardise the judicial rules applicable to patent infringement cases heard by courts of all levels in Beijing municipality.

The revised Guidelines, comprising 153 articles, make rules for the first time on standard essential patents (SEPs) and graphical user interfaces (GUIs). They also add rules for construction of claims, joint infringement and indirect infringement, and patents obtained in bad faith, as well as refine rules on functional limitations, equivalent infringement, and design patent infringement.

Although the Guidelines for Patent Infringement Determination issued by the Beijing Higher People's Court are local judicial interpretations, given the fact that the Court is the final-instance court for patentability cases within the country and has been handling massive patent infringement cases, the Guidelines should be influential as an important reference in relevant judicial practice.