SIPO Issues Revised Guidelines for Patent Examination

On February 28, the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) released a notice on revised Guidelines for Patent Examination (No. 74) to go into effect on April 1, 2017. The draft Guidelines were first released for public comment on October 27, 2016. The Guidelines were last amended in 2010 (No. 55).
 
The Guidelines provide a framework for the handling of patent-related applications and requests as stipulated by Rule 122 of the Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law of the P.R.C.. This round of revisions seeks to reflect the growing importance of innovation and new business models in the Chinese economy, and provide further clarification regarding computer program, or software-enabled, patents and data filing procedures for pharmaceutical patents.