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• Date:2022-11-25

(Summary description)　　It’s been a year and a half since the new Chinese Patent Law came into effect (1 June 2021). Although various versions of draft Examination Guidelines have been released, thus far no official finalized versions have been confirmed. On October 31, 2022, yet another new list of proposed amendments was published, this time consolidating the previous sets of proposed changes from 2020 to 2021 to the Examination Guidelines. As this version looks closer to a finalized version, an official set of guidelines may soon be released. As such, it’s worth looking a bit more closely into this current draft version. 　　Below are a few of the new proposed changes that are worth our attention: New rules for designs in view of China signing onto the Hague agreement New rules and new examination standards for utility models New rules for re-examination/invalidation proceedings Eligibility requirements for patent term compensation, for regular patents (“PTA”) and drug patents (“PTE”) Further requirements for genetic resources obtained in China Detailed procedures regarding open licensing ​​​​​​​Other important changes include: New exception to the patentability of diagnostics Sequence listings adopting ST.26 standards Electronic receipt dates and associated deadlines (e.g., no more 15-day mailing period!)