Xiang Wang Discusses Patent Filings in China

This article, about the debate that has emerged in China surrounding the number of patent filings and patent quality, quotes intellectual property partner Xiang Wang.

“There are a lot of incentives for people to file patents yet the current system is being abused by some applicants which is why there are so many utility model patents, many of which are of very low quality,” said Wang. “You can literally copy patents from any country and have them filed and granted in China as a utility model patent so long as you meet the formality requirement, namely claiming only system or apparatus.”

He continued, “Frivolous lawsuits create a lot of commercial disadvantages to our clients and yet for the plaintiffs there is no penalty." He added utility models can be difficult to invalidate because the threshold to meet the requirement of inventiveness only requires demonstrating some form of improvement. "Ironically they are easy to grant, in fact they will be granted for sure, but they are not necessarily easy to invalidate.”