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China's Court to Begin Handling Patent Disputes
Starting July 1, anyone who refuses to accept a decision by the State Intellectual Property Office on patent issues can appeal to Beijing's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, according to a new amendment to the Patent Law.
Under the amendment, which will go into effect next month, any person whose patent application is rejected by the office can appeal to a special committee for reconsideration.
If the application is rejected a second time, the applicant has the option of bringing an accusation against the office in court.
Previously, only those applying for invention patents were able to take the patent office to court, but the amendment opens the litigation door to every kind of applicant, Thursday's China Daily reported.
"We predict that the caseload will increase by several hundred per year," said Ma Aidi, president of Beijing's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, the only court in China authorized to judge patent cases for the past six years.
The court is currently writing procedure guidelines for patent cases to make the process more convenient for litigants. They will be publicized on Internet after a final version is written, Ma added.
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