Patent Examination Revisions Open for Comment

Patent Examination Revisions Open for Comment
On October 27, the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) issued the Patent Examination Guidelines Revision (Draft for Comments) on its website, open for comment until November 27.

• New additions to the revision include:
• Business models becoming patent eligible
• Computer software patents granted based on "medium & computer program flow" and "components of an apparatus" may now include computer programs.
• A narrowed scope for patent claims which allows identical technical features to be recorded in separate claims.
• Notifying the applicant of reasons for invalidation and attaching supplementary proof.
• Expand the amount of publicly available resources for examination-related documents, marking a big step towards openness and transparency.
• Suspension of execution in assistance to property preservation.