Thursday Shorts: Asia Patent White Papers, EPO Pendency Continues To Grow

Chinese Patent Statistics - research and analytics company Evaluserve released a white paper titled "Patenting Landscape in China - History, Growth and Utility Model", which discusses various statistics on Chinese patent practice, as well as strategies utilized by patent filers:

Some Chinese companies have adopted a strategy that involves filing 10-year patent applications and 20-year patent applications for the same invention on the same day, thereby ensuring the same priority date with the SIPO. Since a 10-year patent application is granted within a year (without substantive examination), the company can start producing, marketing and selling its “patented” product in China. If the corresponding 20-year patent is granted by the SIPO, the Chinese company can simply abandon the 10-year patent and enjoy a longer period of protection, whereas if the corresponding 20-year patent application is not granted by the SIPO after a substantive examination, then the Chinese company can still continue producing and marketing its product on the strength of the utility model it owns (unless it is challenged by another party and the 10-year patent is re-examined by the SIPO).

Download a copy of the white paper (free registration required) here.

Patenting Landscape in India - Evalueserve also released a white paper on patents in India, and takes a close look at who is filing what in the IPO. Interestingly, of the top 50 patent filers at the IPO, only four Indian organizations appear in the top 50 list. Realizing that the lack of awareness among domestic Indian companies, the Ministry of Industry of India recently announced its plans to launch a "national IP awareness campaign."

Download a copy of the India white paper (free registration required) here.

EPO Filers Seething At Delays - from a recent report from the BBC:

Delays in Europe of up to 10 years have left somewhere between five and ten million inventions globally queuing for approval, according to the head of European Patent Office, Alison Brimelow. She said the delays were bad for business and created uncertainty for innovators . . . patents in Europe were supposed to be granted in 36 months but often took four to five years. Some were dragged out for a decade.

Read "Patent delays frustrate inventors" (link)