1. Patent information from China and Taiwan
Christine Kämmer
European Patent Office
AIDB Conference, Rome
06 June 2008

2. Content Some facts about patents Patent granting procedure
The numbering system
Free sources of patent information
Search examples

3. CHINA

4. Some facts about patents in China
early patent law developed in the 1980s
main reasons
participate in world trade
attract foreign investment
problem:
clash of philosophies
(patent monopoly vs. "people's property")
previously: protection of IP rights considered concession to foreign investors
today: growing national interest in IP protection

5. Some facts about patents in China
3 types of patent: invention (20 years), utility model (10 years), design (10 years)
since 2003: more domestic Chinese than foreign patent applications
in 2007: patent applications, utility model applications

6. laid-open publication GONGKAI (A) request for examination
Granting procedure
patents from 2001 onwards
application
formality check
classification
laid-open publication GONGKAI (A)
(18 months after filing date)
request for examination
(within 3 years of filing date)
no request for examination
withdrawal of application
examination
notification of
pending refusal
decision to grant patent
decision of refusal
publication of granted patent
SHOUQUAN (C)
appeal to
Beijing First Intermediate Court
appeal to
Re-examination
Board
invalidation
Invalidation must be requested with the Patent Re-examination Board
appeal to
Beijing First
Intermediate Court
decision to revoke
decision to maintain

7. The numbering system in China
application numbers:
yyyytnnnnnnn.n (since October 2003)
yytnnnnn.n (before October 2003)
publication numbers:
tnnnnnnnn (since August 2007)
tnnnnnn ( August 2007)
y = year t = type of right
n = serial number .n = check digit
types of right (t):
1 = patent, 2 = utility model, 3 = design
8 = PCT patent, 9 = PCT utility model (only in application numbers)

8. The numbering system in China – Tips
same number format, but different number used for Chinese laid-open and granted publications
e. g. CN refers to two different documents
application number links both publication stages of the same document CN
CN-A
CN-C CN
CN-A
CN-C

9. Chinese Patent Office (SIPO) www.sipo.gov.cn/ sipo_English/
Free sources - English
Patent search at the
Chinese Patent Office (SIPO) sipo_English/
patents and utility models from 1985 on
English abstracts for patents
bibliographic data for utility models
NEW: Chinese-English machine translation (trial version)
updated monthly; time lag: 3-4 months

10. China Patent Database (CNPAT) http://search.cnpat. com.cn/Search/EN/
Free sources - English
China Patent Database (CNPAT) com.cn/Search/EN/
patents, utility models and designs from 1985 on
English abstracts for patents
bibliographic data for utility models
link to full documents (page by page, TIFF)
NEW: Chinese-English machine translation (trial version)
updated monthly; 3-4 months time lag

11. http://english.cnipr.com/ enpat/
Free sources – English (NEW!)
China Intellectual Property Net (CNIPR)
"C-Pat Search"
enpat/
patents, utility models, designs from 1985 on
abstracts for patents (human) and utility models (MT)
bibliographic data for designs
display and download of full documents (in one; TIFF)
Chinese-English machine translation (trial version)
English legal status information

12. Chinese Patent Office’s (SIPO) website
Free source - Chinese
Patent search at the
Chinese Patent Office’s (SIPO) website
sipo2008/
patents, utility models and designs from 1985 on
retrieval of full documents (page by page, TIFF)
current legal status information
payment of annual fees
updated weekly

13. Search example – C-Pat Search
search in patents, utility models, designs
refine search

14. Search example – C-Pat Search
full document (TIFF)
machine translation of full document
machine-translated abstract for utility models
English legal status

15. Search example – C-Pat Search
on-the-fly machine translation (claims, description)

16. Search example – C-Pat Search
display, download and print original document (TIFF)
NOTE: special viewer necessary to display documents

17. Search example – SIPO's website (retrieval of recent publications)

18. Search example – SIPO's website (retrieval of recent publications)
NOTE: SIPO's special viewer is necessary to display documents

19. Search example – SIPO's website (legal status information)

20. TAIWAN

21. Some facts about patents in Taiwan
Taiwan currently not signatory to any international treaties concerning IP rights
since 1994: agreements on mutual recognition of patent priority with some countries (e.g. DE, JP, US, FR, UK...)  before Taiwan‘s WTO entry: only way for foreigners to obtain IP protection
WTO entry in 2002: related treaties for all WTO member economies (e.g. TRIPS) apply!
applicants who first filed in Taiwan can claim priority in another WTO member economy and vice versa

22. Some facts about patents in Taiwan
3 types of patent: invention (20 yrs), utility model (10 yrs), design (12 yrs)
domestic patent applications increased fivefold within the last 10 years
in 2006: patent applications, utility model applications
(source: annual report TIPO)

23. Granting procedure patents from 2004 onwards application
formality check
classification
laid-open publication (GONGKAI)
(18 months after filing date)
request for examination
(within 3 years of filing date)
no request for examination
withdrawal of application
examination
decision of refusal
appeal to Administrative
Supreme Court
decision to grant
request for
re-examination
publication of granted patent
& issue of certificate (FAZHENG)
appeal to Administrative
High Court*
appeal to Ministry
of Economic Affairs
invalidation
appeal to Ministry of
Economic Affairs
decision to revoke
decision to maintain
(* or IP Court from mid-2008 on)

24. The numbering system in Taiwan - Republican (Minguo) years
used since founding of the Republic of China by Sun Yat-sen in 1912
patent context: used in application numbers and dates, in databases and on documents
easily confused with two-digit Western years!
Conversion rule for Minguo years:
Minguo year = Western year
(Example: Minguo 97 = 2008)

25. The numbering system in Taiwan
application numbers:
(y)yytnnnnn
unexamined publication numbers (>2003):
yyyynnnnn
y = Minguo (Republican) year t = type of right
y = Western year n = serial number
types of right (t):
1 = patent, 2 = utility model, 3 = design (application numbers)

26. The numbering system in Taiwan
examined publication numbers (<2004):
nnnnnn
granted publication numbers (> 2004):
tnnnnnn
t = type of right
n = serial number
types of right (t):
I = patent, M = utility model, D = design (grant numbers)

27. The numbering system in Taiwan - Tips
search with number "TW " may give three different results:
TW I260643: granted patent (after 2004), application date 30 December 2005
TW M260643: registered utility model; application date 25 March 2003
TW : examined patent publication (before 2004), application date 15 May 1995

28. Free source - English
Taiwan Intellectual Property Office's (TIPO) Patent Index
search for patents and utility models
data from 1998 onwards for granted documents
data from 2003 onwards for unexamined publications
English abstracts for patents
bibliographic data for utility models
updated monthly; ca. 6 months time lag

29. Free source - planned features (July 2008)
Taiwan Intellectual Property Office's (TIPO) Patent Index
display and download of original documents of patents, utility models and designs via an English search interface
English legal status information for granted patents and utility models

30. Search example – TIPO Patent Index
NOTE: IPC search currently not possible!

31. Search example – TIPO Patent Index

32. Search example – TIPO Patent Index
NOTE: Before 01 January 2008, English abstracts were also available for granted documents (TW-B)!

33. Free sources - Chinese TIPO's patent gazette
search in patent, utility model, design gazettes
bibliographic data, abstract, representative drawing for unexamined publications (PDF)
bibliographic data, claims, drawings for granted documents (PDF)
published three times per month

34. Taiwan Patent Network (TWPAT)
Free sources - Chinese
Taiwan Patent Network (TWPAT)
search for patents, utility models and designs
original full documents page by page (PDF)
documents updated in rhythm with the gazette
legal status information (updated daily)

35. Search example - TWPAT click here go to the free search interface

36. Search example - TWPAT
select publication number, application number or grant number
enter number here and click "search"

37. Search example - TWPAT click here to go to the original document
TIP: Chinese bibliography, abstract and claims can be copied into an online translation tool

38. Search example - TWPAT
click here to save or print the document (page by page)
NOTE: Acrobat reader is required to display the original documents
application date:
12 February 2004

39. Searching in databases - Tips and guides
Content on Taiwan to be added soon...

40. EPO Vienna Your gateway to East Asia