A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) maker recently filed suit in the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court against the State Intellectual Property Office's Patent Re-examination Board after its patent for a cardiovascular medication was revoked.

In 2004, Shanghai Xingling Pharmaceutical was granted a patent on a ginkgo compound used to treat cardiovascular disease and the production techniques used to produce it.

The company then secured eight invention patents for the medicine in the United States, Britain and Australia, now the company's major export destinations.

Miao Min, a Chinese citizen, applied to void the patent in 2008 and the board ruled last year that patent was invalid due to lack of inventiveness.

The company then sued, asking the court to find the board's ruling invalid.

The court is now considering the evidence and has yet to render a verdict.

The patent board cited previously released German research on the medicinal effects of gingko leaves as evidence to refute Xingling's claim for creation of the medicine, Xu Shenmin, Xingling' attorney told China Daily
                                                                                                      Source: China Daily