CPA Undertakes SIPO Soft Science Research Project
China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd. (CPA) recently completed a project under the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) Soft Science Research Programme. On 9 December 2014, CPA deputy general manager Ms. Tina Tai as the project in-charge led a 9-member research team to present a report on the project before the review committee at SIPO.
The project studied the costs and strategies of acquiring overseas patent protection by Chinese applicants, with a focus on the costs likely to be incurred in filing patent applications abroad by Chinese applicants and relevant preferential policies of different countries. It further proposed ways of economising on the costs involved based on the research results for the reference of Chinese applicants.
In carrying out the project, CPA research team made solid research on the patent procedures and relevant cost structures of a number of countries and regions including the US, UK, Canada, EU, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Russia, Mexico, Australia, and India. Information on official fee schedules and attorney fees and charges as well as reduction and exemption for the official fees in those countries and regions were gathered, with particular attention to whether the reduction and exemption is applicable to Chinese applicants. In addition, the project also made in-depth studies on how the burgeoning Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is influencing the cost of overseas patent application.
The project was highly regarded by the review committee, who recognised its theoretical and practical significance, and commended in particular the suggestions proposed by our research team as useful guides for Chinese applicants in overseas patent deployment.
