As of January 1, 2010, the Interpretation of Issues in the Application of the Law in Patent Infringement Disputes Trials issued by the Supreme People’s Court became effective.
The judicial interpretation covers major legal issues and the application in the trials of patent infringement cases. Those issues include determination of the scope of protection for patent right of invention and utility models and related judging principles, principles in judging patent infringement related to industrial designs, defense of prior art, application of prior-use defense, declaratory judgment, etc.
According to the spokesman of the Supreme People’s Court, the interpretation of claims should be strictly followed in determining the scope of patent protection. Taking into consideration the publication and boundary of the claims, the scope of patent protection should not be extended which may lead to limited space for innovation and harm the innovative capabilities and public interest.
The drafting of Judicial Interpretation began in January 2009. The first draft completed in March, and was published to soliciting the public comments in June last year. After repeated discussions and revisions and opinions from all sides, the Interpretation was finally approved by the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court (SPC). The Judicial Interpretation is said to provide a unified standard in the judicial practice.
