Does somebody know which is the procedure to submit a Third Party Observation at SIPO (China)?
On its website there isn't any information related to TPOs.
-
I found out that electronical submission of TPOs should be possible, but didn't find the procedure.– user18033Commented Dec 8, 2016 at 7:40
-
Here is a relevant article: managingip.com/Article/3440424/… I suppose if someone knows chinese he will be able to locate the relevant form in SIPO?– chempatent1981Commented Dec 8, 2016 at 12:06
-
I saw that too, but I aslo found out that the TPOs can be made in English. That would be difficult if you have to submit them through a chinese form.– user18033Commented Dec 8, 2016 at 17:45
-
Can you share the source you have found about submitting in English?– chempatent1981Commented Dec 9, 2016 at 10:09
-
bricwallblog.com/2015/05/11/… " If any evidence is in a language other than Chinese or English, it is recommended that a Chinese translation be provided."– user18033Commented Dec 12, 2016 at 20:57
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
I submitted this question at the EPO Asian Info Helpdesk and in a nutshell, if you are not familiar with the Chinese language you need a chinese attorney.
The legal basis for TPO's in China is Rule 48 of the Implementing Regulations. You need to file them in Chinese as per Rule 3 (but not the documents you might be referring to) and apparently it is not possible online, rather you have to adress it to SIPO directly.
If I ever come to the point of having serious reasons to file TPO's with the SIPO, I will simply gather all relevant prior art documents and sent them to SIPO, along with a google-translated short passage like "please find enclosed relevant prior art in respect of XXXXX patent application". And I will see what happens!
-
If you have serious reasons for that a Chinese attorney might be a good idea though.– user18033Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 8:20
-
OK, let's say, when I am given a good opportunity I will give it a try this way. This is because I remember reading in some blog that chinese examiners are overloaded and they highly appreciate TPO's, but, sadly for them, they are not receiving enough. Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 8:30
-
Haha, would be nice to see, but aren't the office actions in Chinese too? We wouldn't see anything then. Nice answer anyways!– user18033Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 8:31
-
Yes, the Chinese Patent registry provides office actions only in chinese. But take a shot at the Espacenet, with a chinese application (or patent) filed after 10.02.2010. Once you retrieve the result, click on Globar Dossier and let me know what you think of it ;) Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 8:37
-
1I am confident that, yes, they are machine translated. But it helps a lot. And if you check the frequent questions, "What is Global Dossier", you can see that this is available for filing date 10.02.2010 and onwards. I have to add, though, that I have many times useful prior art for myself, from chinese (or japanese) documents, because the patent numbers are always in latin. Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 10:03
As apparently no one has found an answer yet, I'll make one with what we have. Feel free to edit in anything you find.
Rule 48 from the "Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China" (http://english.sipo.gov.cn/laws/lawsregulations/201403/t20140331_925757.html) allows third party observations until the notification of the grant.
http://www.managingip.com/Article/3440424/How-to-make-effective-third-party-observations.html This article states that there is an electronic form, which I couldn't find, so maybe it exists only in Chinese. If one wants to add documents to the third party observations they have to made in paper form anyways.
https://bricwallblog.com/2015/05/11/third-party-observations-in-china-part-7-of-an-8-part-series/ But here it says that English observations may be made or rather, that a translation should be provided if the observations are not in English or Chinese.
Further information might be available by contacting the EPO China helpdesk (https://www.epo.org/searching-for-patents/helpful-resources/asian/china/faq.html). I have contacted them once on another issue and they were very helpful!
For PCT applications, as far as I know, it is enough to send the observations to the WIPO and they will send them to the relevant national authorities.
