A valid priority date draws a line in determining what references can and cannot be used as prior art against a patent application, which significantly impacts the determination of patentability. Xiao Ning, Chunjing Wang and Xia Zheng explain why foreign clients are facing complications of Chinese domestic priority claiming – and what to do about it.
Priority claim to an earlier-filed prior application is a common yet important part of filing. A valid priority date draws a line in determining what references can and cannot be used as prior art against a patent application, which significantly impacts the determination of patentability.
There are some special stipulations in China regarding priority claiming, especially for domestic priority claiming. With the increase of collaboration between Chinese and overseas enterprises, we note some clients abroad also face the complication of Chinese domestic priority claiming, e.g. the first application is filed with the CNIPA if the Chinese research center of a foreign enterprise has made the invention or a technology developed by a Chinese manufacturer is later acquired by a foreign party. Thus we would like to elaborate those rules and share a case where a patent is secured after two court trials. Read more