CPA Attorneys Take Part in BPAA Training on Recent Revision of Patent Examination Guidelines
On 21 April 2017, the Beijing Office of China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd. (CPA) played host to a training session conducted by Beijing Patent Attorneys Association (BPAA) on the revision of the Guidelines for Patent Examination, which have come into effect on 1 April 2017. About 200 patent attorneys and patent engineers from CPA Beijing, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Shanghai offices took part in the training personally or via audio conference.
Mr. Zhou Wubin, head of Examination Guidelines Division under Examination Affairs Department of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), was invited to give a lecture for the occasion. Mr. Zhou's lecture focused on the construction of the amendments to the Guidelines and commented on the application of the amended provisions. During the two-hour lecture, Mr. Zhou first traced the history of revisions of the Guidelines, then briefed on the background of this revision and explained the considerations behind some of the amendments which have been proposed. After that, he expounded on major contents of this revision, covering issues related to protection of business models, drafting of software plus hardware claims for computer programme-related patent applications, supplementary experimental data, amendment to claims in invalidation procedure, patent examination information disclosure, and suspension procedure. Mr. Zhou's lecture combined description of facts with analysis and comments along with studies of cases, and was well-received by our attorneys.
This lecture is the first of the 2017 training series arranged by BPAA for CPA attorneys. Topics scheduled for the upcoming training include invention application drafting and patent administrative litigation.
