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Recently, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Office issued a notice on continuing to strictly regulate patent application behavior. It is mentioned that the implementation of the "Shanghai Patent Subsidy Measures" will be stopped, the "Shanghai Intellectual Property Special Fund Management Measures" will be formulated, and domestic invention patent authorization subsidies will be completely cancelled. All types of patent authorization subsidies will be canceled before 2025. In collaboration with market supervision, science and technology, finance and other departments, the number of patent applications and authorizations shall not be directly used as the main condition for enjoying rewards or qualification assessment policies. Resolutely put an end to duplication of funding, excessive funding, clearing of rewards, disguised funding, rewards for large households, etc.

Notice from the Shanghai Intellectual Property Office on continuing to strictly regulate patent application behavior

Shanghai Municipal People's Government Security Bureau [2022] No. 12

All district intellectual property offices, Lingang New Area Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, all relevant offices, China (Shanghai) Intellectual Property Protection Center, China (Pudong) Intellectual Property Protection Center:

At present, intellectual property work has shifted to a new stage of high-quality development. Combating irregular patent applications is not only an important measure to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, but also an inevitable necessity to maintain the stable operation of the intellectual property system, strengthen intellectual property protection, and promote high-quality development. Require. In order to further standardize the order of patent applications in this city, establish a long-term mechanism for the high-quality development of patent applications, resolutely crack down on and effectively curb abnormal patent application behaviors that are not aimed at protecting innovation, promote the formation of a joint effort of top-down linkage and collaborative governance, and provide knowledge To provide strong support for the construction of a city with strong property rights, according to the "Notice of the State Intellectual Property Office on Continuing to Strictly Regulate the Behavior of Patent Applications" (Guozhifabaozi [2022] No. 7, hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") and the "Measures on Regulating the Behavior of Patent Applications" "(State Intellectual Property Office Announcement No. 411, hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), the relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:

1. Work content

Units and individuals within the jurisdiction of this city who implement the following abnormal patent applications that are not for the purpose of protecting innovation will be included in the key targets of rectification and will be severely cracked down and dealt with in accordance with relevant laws, regulations and policies.

(1) Submit multiple patent applications at the same time or one after another whose inventions and creations have obviously the same content, or which are essentially formed by simple combinations of features or elements of different inventions and creations;

(2) The submitted patent application fabricates, forges or alters the content of inventions, experimental data or technical effects, or plagiarizes, simply replaces, cobbles together existing technology or existing designs, or other similar circumstances;

(3) The invention-creation of the submitted patent application is obviously inconsistent with the actual research and development capabilities and resource conditions of the applicant and inventor;

(4) The inventions and creations in the multiple patent applications submitted were mainly randomly generated using computer programs or other technologies;

(5) The invention-creation of the submitted patent application is an invention that is deliberately formed to avoid the purpose of patentability review and is obviously inconsistent with technical improvement or design common sense, or has no actual protection value, is deteriorated, stacked, or unnecessarily narrows the scope of protection. Creation, or content without any search and review significance;

(6) Submit multiple patent applications that are essentially related to specific units, individuals or addresses in scattered, successive or different places in order to evade regulatory measures to crack down on irregular patent applications;

(7) Not to buy or sell patent application rights or patent rights for the purpose of implementing patented technology, designs or other legitimate purposes, or falsely change the inventor or designer;

(8) Patent agencies, patent attorneys, or other institutions or individuals act as agents, induce, instigate, assist others, or conspire with them to implement various abnormal patent application behaviors;

(9) Other abnormal patent application behaviors and related behaviors that violate the principle of good faith and disrupt the normal order of patent work.

2. Work measures

(1) Establish and improve working mechanism

A working leading group was established, with Director Rui Wenbiao as the leader, Deputy Director Yu Chen and Deputy Director Yang Hui as deputy leaders, Intellectual Property Protection Division, Public Service Division, Intellectual Property Development Promotion Division, Intellectual Property Agency, Office, China ( Shanghai) Intellectual Property Protection Center and China (Pudong) Intellectual Property Protection Center are members, strengthening overall coordination, grasping work priorities, and in-depth and continuous implementation of relevant work.

(2) Continue to improve and improve the information communication mechanism

Taking the business environment innovation pilot as an important starting point, establish a linkage mechanism for rapid processing of abnormal patent applications, smooth information exchange channels, and achieve the first time notification, first time processing, and first time feedback of abnormal patent application behaviors. Regularly summarize reported cases in the jurisdiction, clues to key issues, proactive verification and handling of reporting clues, formulation and adjustment of funding policies, etc., and report to the State Intellectual Property Office in a timely manner. Take the initiative to inform the science and technology, education, health and other departments about abnormal patent applications, and support and assist relevant departments to strengthen administrative management work involving patent applications.

(3) Strengthen precise management of patent application behavior

Improve an efficient and accurate abnormal patent application screening mechanism and promote the establishment of a precise management system for patent applications. The Municipal Intellectual Property Office sets the conditions, procedures and exit mechanism for inclusion in the whitelist for precise management of patent applications. The intellectual property management departments of each district shall strictly verify the R&D status and innovation capabilities of relevant units and individuals that are intended to be included in the whitelist, review them by the Municipal Intellectual Property Office, and submit them to the State Intellectual Property Office for review and then make them public. If an applicant listed on the list makes an abnormal patent application, the intellectual property management departments of each district will deal with it severely and severely in accordance with laws and regulations.

(4) Improve the proactive verification and reporting mechanism

Intellectual property management departments at the municipal and district levels should continue to increase proactive verification of abnormal patent applications. Patent agencies and intellectual property protection centers should establish working mechanisms in patent acceptance, pre-examination, enterprise filing and other aspects to proactively investigate abnormal patent application behaviors. Establish a special hotline for complaints and reports of abnormal patent applications, strengthen the role of the special line, encourage the public to report abnormal patent applications, set indicators for violations, and fund and reward policies, etc., to ensure that reporting clues are handled promptly and properly, and violations of laws and regulations are investigated and dealt with promptly and effectively. The intellectual property management departments of each district should take into account the actual situation and set up a dedicated line to receive reports on abnormal patent application behavior in the region. After receiving the reports, they should promptly verify and handle the reports, and report the handling to the Municipal Intellectual Property Office in a timely manner.

(5) Strengthen hierarchical and classified management

Intellectual property management departments at the municipal and district levels will pay special attention to units and individuals that submit abnormal patent applications within their respective jurisdictions in relevant project applications, funding awards, pre-examination services, priority examinations, etc., and carry out classified rectification according to different situations. If the applicant has no objections, the applicant will be urged to withdraw it voluntarily; if the applicant has objections, the applicant will be guided to submit appeal materials on time and follow up on the handling of the appeal; if the applicant refuses to withdraw and fails to submit appeal materials and sufficient written evidence, he will be dealt with strictly according to the circumstances and in accordance with the law. Cancel the qualification to enjoy local relevant policy preferences, cancel the qualifications to apply for national intellectual property demonstration and advantageous enterprises, Shanghai enterprise and public institution patent work pilot demonstration units, intellectual property protection center registered enterprises, etc., and cancel the application for China Patent Award and Shanghai Intellectual Property Innovation Award , qualifications to participate or win awards.

(6) Strengthen the management of key violations

Intellectual property management departments at the municipal and district levels should focus on abnormally large numbers of applications, applications using other people's information, repeated applications for abnormal patents, abnormal patent applications for buying and selling, and the "three noes" of no R&D investment, no R&D personnel, and no production and operation. We will continue to tackle key issues such as patent applications by shell companies that are suspected of violating laws and regulations, increase efforts to deal with them, dig deep into the root causes of problems, strengthen comprehensive rectification, and promptly transfer relevant information to relevant local departments for strict supervision.

(7) Strengthen departmental collaborative governance

Collaborate and support departments such as science and technology, education, and industrial informatization to further improve and improve evaluation standards related to patent work, strengthen patent quality evaluation in the management of review and identification work, effectively utilize patent evaluation reports, and highlight quality orientation. Stop implementing the "Shanghai Patent Subsidy Measures", formulate and promulgate the "Shanghai Intellectual Property Special Fund Management Measures", completely cancel domestic invention patent authorization subsidies, and cancel all types of patent authorization subsidies before 2025. In collaboration with market supervision, science and technology, finance and other departments, the number of patent applications and authorizations shall not be directly used as the main condition for enjoying rewards or qualification assessment policies. Resolutely put an end to duplication of funding, excessive funding, clearing of rewards, disguised funding, rewards for large households, etc. Collaborate with market supervision, public security, credit supervision and other departments to verify clues to key issues suspected of violating laws and regulations in the field of abnormal patent applications, and deal with them strictly in accordance with the law.

(8) Strengthening credit supervision in the field of patent applications

Intellectual property management departments at the municipal and district levels should bring abnormal patent application behavior into the scope of intellectual property credit supervision, and focus on rectifying serious illegal and untrustworthy entities and untrustworthy agencies. Implement the "Measures for the Management of Market Supervision and Management of Serious Illegal and Untrustworthy Lists" and relevant policy documents, and submit abnormal patent applications and engage in illegal patent agency activities that violate laws and administrative regulations, are egregious in nature, serious in nature, and cause great social harm, and are subject to market supervision If the administrative department imposes a severe administrative penalty, it will be listed as a breach of trust in accordance with laws and regulations, and will be managed and publicized.

(9) Strengthen supervision of agency behavior

Deepen special rectification actions and continuously increase the crackdown on irregular patent applications and unqualified patent agents. Strengthen the sharing of supervision information on abnormal patent application agency behavior among regions and improve the efficiency of cross-regional supervision. Strengthen coordination and cooperation with relevant regulatory authorities, give full play to the advantages of comprehensive supervision, increase supervision of illegal activities such as engaging in abnormal patent application agency, and improve supervision efficiency. Implement the business environment innovation pilot policy, and the intellectual property management departments at the municipal and district levels have signed entrusted supervision agreements. Strengthen the supervision and performance assessment of agency supervision work in each district, consolidate local supervision responsibilities, promote the decentralization of supervision forces, and strengthen the guarantee of working conditions.

(10) Strengthen publicity and policy interpretation

Through press conferences, briefing meetings, official websites, government new media, service windows, etc., we actively publicize and interpret policies, guide innovative entities and market entities to actively invest in innovation, scientifically and rationally distribute patents, and further enhance the awareness and strategic layout of patent applications. Quality awareness and effectively improve the quality of patent applications.

3. Progress Arrangement

(1) Comprehensive promotion stage (early June to end of September)

Adhere to the problem and goal orientation, strictly implement the recent notification requirements and work arrangements of the State Intellectual Property Office on issues related to patent applications in Shanghai, focus on rectification of the problem ledger, benchmark and form, make up for shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses, and strengthen the department Collaborate to crack down on irregular patent applications.

(2) Consolidation and improvement stage (from early October to the end of December)

Carry out regular self-examination, focus on strengthening strengths and complementing weaknesses, rectify, improve, optimize and improve work, and consolidate the results of centralized rectification. It strives to further standardize the patent application order by the end of 2022, with the proportion of abnormal patent applications in Shanghai significantly reduced and the proportion of high-quality patent applications continuing to increase.

4. Work requirements

(1) Strengthen organizational leadership. Combating irregular patent applications is not only an important measure to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, but also an inevitable requirement to maintain the stable operation of the intellectual property system, strengthen intellectual property protection, and promote high-quality development. Intellectual property management departments in each district must attach great importance to the standardization of patent application behavior, establish a leadership coordination mechanism, clarify key goals and key links, formulate special work plans, clarify specific responsible persons and work contacts, and carry out relevant work in depth and continuously.

(2) Strengthen information sharing. It is necessary to coordinate relevant departments, proactively and timely report clues to reports and complaints about abnormal patent application behavior and verification and processing results, further improve and improve the evaluation standards related to patent work, strengthen patent quality evaluation in review and identification work management, and verify the areas of abnormal patent applications. Clues on key issues suspected of violating laws and regulations will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law.

(3) Strengthen supervision and inspection. Strengthen publicity and guidance to improve the quality of patent applications, and further enhance the strategic layout awareness and quality awareness of patent applications in the whole society. The Municipal Intellectual Property Office will adopt regular and irregular forms to supervise and inspect the implementation of work, summarize the implementation of work every quarter, sum up experience in a timely manner, find work deficiencies, and make rectifications.

(4) Form a joint force for rectification. Strengthen departmental coordination and linkage, consolidate work responsibilities, establish a chess game of supervision and rectification work, coordinate implementation, actively carry out joint actions and joint law enforcement, cooperate with each other, form a strong work force, and jointly promote the high-quality development of the city's patent industry.

Notice is hereby given.

Shanghai Intellectual Property Office

June 8, 2022

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