China is becoming an increasingly attractive patent filing destination for foreign companies. But foreign counsels are often confused by the country’s inventive step requirement. Chinese patent examiners often use abstract legal terms, such as “prominent substantive features” and “notable progress,” in their analysis.
This article, The Inventive Step in Chinese Patent Law Compared With the U.S. Non-Obviousness Standard, by Fish IP Law attorney Shuo Liu, Ph.D., Esq., provides an overview of the inventive step requirement in China, in comparison with the non-obviousness standard in the United States.