NTD took center stage at the Boston Bar Association’s “IP Protection in China for Biotech and Pharmaceutical Companies” program Thursday, Feb. 18.
NTD senior partner and vice president Heather Lin was joined by NTD partners Nathan Yang and Luke Zuo for an overview of the patent application process in China for biotech and pharmaceutical companies and pros and cons for foreign applicants after the new trademark law amendment in 2014.
Yang spoke first and focused on reviewing recent developments in trademark law in China. He first reviewed the characteristics that showed trademark filing trends and trademark litigations in China. Some of the important numbers Yang discussed included a look at how trademark filings had exploded over the last 15 years, from 57,000 in 1990 to 2.2 million in 2014.
Yang went on to explain pros and cons for foreign companies after the new trademark law amendment including efforts to track down trademark squatting, adjust the well-known trademarks system, emphasize importance of trademark use, increase compensation for trademark infringement, the use of trademarks in the OEM business and the recent Chinese Trademark Office’s preliminary approval of its first sound mark filed by China Radio International.
Zuo, a former surgeon who made the transition to patent law, reviewed rules for filing divisional applications and patent drafting and prosecution tips for the pharmaceutical and biotech segments. Zuo highlighted diagnostic and therapeutic methods and experimental data.
Zuo focused on Article 25.1.3 of the Chinese that states that, “methods for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases are unpatentable” and how to use the Swiss type use claim for a successful patent application. He also talked on the importance of experimental data and provided an outline for a successful problem solution approach.
Finally, Lin closed the presentation with a comparative look at patent filing statistics, processing procedures and requirements. Lin also discussed the way Chinese examiners review applications and reexamination/appeals proceedings.
