He also offers a few lessons from Foley and Lardner's presentation on "China Patent Practice: The New Realities Strategies for Success for the Multinational Enterprise," including
- The 828,000 Chinese patent, utility model and design applications filed last year represent –by far –the largest number of patent filings of any country in the world.
- Because early patent protection will not be possible [due to rising application backlogs], utility model protection should be considered as an alternative.
- Less than one (1) percent of utility model applications are by foreign enterprises.
- Utility model protection is excellent for prompt grant of the patent right.
- The patent is registered with a substantive examination deferred until enforcement.
- Utility model protection is an excellent way to quickly boost the size of granted patent protection.
- Utility model protection has resulted in very high damages awards on a case by case basis
- a trade secret invention practiced in the United States may still be the basis for patenting in other countries; Only the United States adopted the unique bar against patenting an applicant’s secret invention. No other country has followed the U.S. lead of Judge Learned Hand in Metallizing Engineering.
- it is anticipated that many disputes will arise as to ownership of improvement inventions that are made as part of outsourcing or joint venture agreements.
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