IPO’s Comments on recently proposed examination guidelines and on the SPC’s patent linkage reveal an increasingly complex web of IP legislation which is dependent on clarity in higher level laws.
Mark Cohen （柯恒）
Mark Allen Cohen （柯恒} is a Distinguished Senior Fellow and Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a Guest Professor at Renmin University, China. He has served as the Senior Counsel, China for the USPTO. Formerly, he was Director of International Intellectual Property Policy at Microsoft Corporation. Prior to that time he was Of Counsel to Jones Day's Beijing office. Before then, he served as Senior Intellectual Property Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and as Attorney-Advisor in the Office of International Relations at USPTO. In total, he has nearly 30 private, public sector, in house and academic experience on IPR issues in China. This is his private blog. This blog represents the opinions of the author(s) only, and should not be construed as the position of any employer, client, or other party, including (and especially) the US government.
USPTO Chinese Law Translations Available
USPTO has graciously made available here its unofficial translations of 19 IP related final and/or draft IPR Laws, Regulations, drafting descriptions of Regulations, Rules, explanations on the Rules, as well as judicial […]
Patent Data in a Pandemic
China’s first 10 month 2020 data shows a market increase in utility model patent applications. Is this a response to the pandemic? How does the data compare to USPTO filings for this period?
Some Additional Possible TRIPS Claims
I received several emails about my recent blog on possible TRIPS claims involving China. There are three additional WTO claims that have since come to mind. Each of them would also require […]
The WTO IP Cases That Weren’t
Does the WTO / TRIPS Agreement still have teeth on IP? This blog explores the possible claims that could be made involving TRIPS Agreement violations and China. The more important claims are complex, data-dependent, and would require a whole of government approach by the Biden adminisitration.
USPTO Finally Travels Up the Diplomatic Staircase
According to a USPTO news release, four USPTO overseas officials have been elevated to the diplomatic rank of “Counselor”. Efforts to elevate the PTO position overseas took over 13 years of work.
RCEP And Phase 1: Strange Bedfellows in IP
RCEP and the Phase 1 Trade Agremeent are strange historical bedfellows, joined by common approaches to IP that diminish its role as a private right. The differences between the two agreements are also significant. The Phase 1 Agreement explicitly contemplated a Phase 2 Trade Agreement. It also only involved one country. RCEP intends to be comprehensive and regional, if not global. It is an alternative to the TPP. It will help China establish global IP norms.
China IPR, Thanksgiving and “The Room Where It Happens”
“No one really knows how the game is playedThe art of the trade… no one else is in The room where it happens.” (Lin Manuel-Miranda, from the musical “Hamilton”) I never met […]
Three New Reports Proposing Policies for China Engagement
Three reports were recently released on Chinese law, Chinese science cooperation and US-Chinese relations with recommendations for the incoming administration. Here is a summary: The Brookings Institution’s report “The Future of US […]
Treating the “Foreign” Differently in Trade Secret Enforcement
Both the proposed amendments to the Criminal Law and the administrative rules on trade secret enforcement establish differential treatment for trade secret enforcement when a foreign element is involved
