Patent Agents List
The year 2012 witnesses the 20% pass-through rate of China Patent Agent Qualification Test, which doubles that of 2011. By January 31, 2013, China has listed 915 patent agencies and 7,993 patent agents. Following the amendments to Civil Procedure Law, All China Patent Agent Association (ACPAA) initiated the referral of patent attorneys to the Supreme Court for handling patent litigations last December.
Top 10 Domestic Patentees
Topping the list of patentees of 2012 are Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (2,734), ZTE Corporation (2,727), Hongfujin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (1,099), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (1,044), Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (530), BYD Compnay Limited (510), Huawei Device Co., Ltd. (347), H3C Technologies Co., Limited (318), China Mobile Communications Corporation (303) and Chery Inc. (293).
Patent Invalidations
In the 2010 patent infringement lawsuits of Nokia vs. Shanghai Huaqin Telecom, the defendant Huaqin lodged invalidation actions over 8 patents with the Patent Reexamination Board (PRB). It comes in 2012 that 3 out of 8 were declared null in relation to "radio device", "mobile communication device with camera" and "communication terminal".
337 Investigations
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) launched 337 investigations against ZTE, Huawei, etc. over wireless electronics devices last August. Of 13 investigations China's companies suffered in 2012, patent infringement is the hottest issue, involving 12 cases, over 90%.
(Source: Shanghai Patent & Trademark Law Office LLC)
