- NEWS ABOUT SONODA & KOBAYASHI -
1. Sonoda & Kobayashi continues to include Chinese IP news in this newsletter
Having opened a new branch office in Beijing, Sonoda & Kobayashi decided to feature Chinese IP news for the first time in the September edition of this newsletter.
Now two months later, we were able to confirm that there is sufficient interest among our readers for this type of news. From now on, along with the usual news from the JPO and the latest IP news from Japan, this newsletter will feature some news from China's patent authority CNIPA and brief articles on what is happening in China's IP landscape.
We thank you for your continued interest in our firm and hope that we can continue to bring you important and interesting news from the world of intellectual property.
- JPO AND CNIPO NEWS -
1. Opinions on the JPO's examination quality: 2021 survey results announced
Every year, the JPO conducts user evaluation surveys on the quality of examinations. This survey is based on the recognition that it is essential to properly understand the needs and expectations of users (applicants, third parties enforcing rights, etc.) regarding examinations. Through this understanding, the JPO hopes to realize the highest quality examinations.
On the 20th of October 2021, the JPO announced the results of the survey it conducted in 2021. The survey was conducted from May to June 2021, and the response rate was more than 80% (640 out of 737 survey targets).
Survey results for patent examination
As for the overall evaluation of the quality of patent examination for domestic applications, 95.1% of the respondents rated the quality as "normal" or higher, and 63.0% rated the quality as "high" (i.e., "satisfactory" or "relatively satisfactory").
As for the overall evaluation of the quality of international search in PCT applications, 97.4% of the respondents rated the quality as "Normal" or higher, and 62.7% rated it as "High".
This year's responses are shown against those of the past year in the figure below:
Looking at the free-response column, there were many comments expecting improvement in "communication with examiners during interviews, telephone calls, etc.". In relation to this, in April 2021, the JPO expanded the web conference service that can be used for interview examinations and improved the means for examiners to contact users by phone during telework.
As a result of the analysis, the JPO decided to prioritize "homogeneity of judgments," "homogeneity of judgments under Article 29(2) (inventive step)," and "homogeneity of judgments in international searches, etc." as items to be addressed.
Survey results for design examination
Regarding the overall quality of design examination, 94.2% of respondents rated the overall quality of design examination as "normal" or higher (down 2.3 percentage points the previous year), and 67.7% rated it as "high" (up 3.3 percentage points from the previous year).
As for the individual items related to the quality of design examination in general, the top rating for "communication with examiners through interviews, telephone calls, etc." was 77.9% (up 5.2% from the previous year). The results of this year's survey show that "homogeneity of judgment" and "description of reasons for refusal" were positively evaluated at 51.4% (up 1.0 percentage points from the previous year) and 66.9% (up 7.2 percentage points from the previous year) respectively.
This year's responses are shown against those of the past year in the table below:
Based on the results of this year's survey, the JPO decided to strive to improve the homogeneity of judgments among examiners through discussions of cases, etc., and to improve the level of expertise through participation in online exhibitions, etc.
Survey results for trademark examination
Finally, for the result of the trademark examination, 91.7% of the users rated the overall quality as "Normal" or higher (3 or higher on a 5-point scale), and 49.9% rated as a positive rating (4 or higher on a 5-point scale).
This year's responses are shown against those of the past year in the table below:
Looking at the free-response column, many comments were received regarding "communication with examiners on the phone, in interviews, etc.". In relation to this, in April 2021, the JPO improved the means for examiners to contact users by phone during telework and expanded the web conference service available for online interviews.
As a result of the analysis, the JPO has set "Determination of distinctiveness," "Homogeneity among examiners," and "Homogeneity with trial decisions" as priority items to be addressed.
For more information, please click here (in Japanese).
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