Easier Access to Patent Claims Encoded in Chinese

December 2012. The European Patent Office (EPO) is setting the pace for innovation of global patent systems. After many years it succeeded in reaching a milestone agreement with China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO, today CNIPA). Machine translations of patents documented in the largest Asian language will be available free of charge via Espacenet. M. Battistelli has ambitious goals. Until 2014 Japan, Korea and Russia shall follow SIPO’s example. are invited to follow China’s example. Questions remain about ROSPATENT’s willingness to support worldwide harmonisation and finally innovation in its own country. University research and small SME’s are likely to benefit most, but some patentees in the Western world will lose a strategic weapon against competitors.Reading time: 4 min

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