Globalización

Carnegie

P a P e r s

Protecting intellectual ProPerty rights in chinese courts: an analysis of recent Patent Judgments

Mei Y. Gechlik

China Program

number 78 January 2007

© 2007 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the CarnegieEndowment. Please direct inquiries to: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Publications Department 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-483-7600 Fax: 202-483-1840 www.CarnegieEndowment.org
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carnegie Papers Carnegie Papers present new research by Endowment associates and their collaborators from other institutions. The series includes new time-sensitive research and key excerpts from larger works in progress. Comments from readers are most welcome; please reply to the author at the address above or by e-mail to pubs@CarnegieEndowment.org. about the author
Mei Y. Gechlik isa nonresident associate in the Carnegie Endowment’s China Program. She has in-depth experience in Chinese law, business, and politics. She studies legal and political reform in China, constitutional development in Hong Kong, and investment in and trade with China. She has been an assistant professor of law at the City University of Hong Kong and visiting professor at the People’s University inBeijing. She was also a consultant for the United Nations, advising on implementing legal reform programs in China. She offered World Trade Organization training to legislative affairs officials from China’s provinces and the State Council, the country’s highest executive organ. She is a member of the New York Bar and the District of Columbia Bar, and is admitted as a barrister in England, Wales, andHong Kong. She received her doctorate from Stanford University and a master’s in business administration (finance) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The author thanks Rose Song for her excellent research assistance and Stanley Lubman, Mark Medish, and Gary Gechlik for their valuable comments on drafts of this paper.

contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 WhatPercentage of All Judicially Reviewed Patent Reexamination Board Decisions Was Reversed by Courts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Do Courts Succumb to the Patent Reexamination Board’s Pressure to Uphold Its Decisions? . . 6 What Is the Impact of Legal Representation on the “Losing Rate”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 10 Does This Avenue Provide Aggrieved Parties with an Inexpensive and Efficient Means to Protect Their Patent Rights? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 To What Extent Do Non–Mainland Chinese Parties Use This Avenue? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 How Likely Are Non–Mainland Chinese Parties to Win? . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Concluding.Thoughts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....