PATENT CANCELLATION AC-TION PRACTICE

05/01/2006

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Article 67 of the Patent Act requires a patent cancellation petitioner to submit reasons for cancellation and supporting evidence within one month from the date of filing the cancellation petition. Article 4 of the Patent Act''s Enforce-ment Rules requires that the evidence be original documents and if photocopies of evidence are submitted, it be evidenced that the photocopies are identical with the original documents.

In the past, after accepting a cancellation petition, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) always, among others, reviewed the evidence formality issue (whether the supporting evidence was in the form of original documents, or whether copies were proved to be true copies of the originals) in the procedural examination of the case. If the submitted evidence did not meet the formality requirements, the petition would not be further processed.

To avoid delay before the substantive examina-tion of cancellation actions, on 6 March 2006 the IPO announced the following changes in its examination practice:

During the procedural examination stage of a cancellation action, the IPO will not require the petitioner to submit original documents, or to prove that photocopies are true copies of the original documents.

During the substantive examination stage of a cancellation action, the IPO will, as required by law, require the petitioner to provide original documents, or to prove that photo-copies are true copies of the originals.