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Research On The Application Of The Doctrine Of Estoppel In Procedures Of Patent Appllication Examination And Patent Invalidation

Posted on:2013-05-08Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:D B LiFull Text:PDF
GTID:2246330395467817Subject:Civil and Commercial Law
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With the rapid growth of China’s economy, and the high-speed development of technology and the growing awareness of applying for patents among Chinese people in recent years, the volumes of received patent applications, granted patent applications, and patent invalidation requests are also soaring rapidly. In order to adapt to the new trend, while increasing the quantity of examiners, improving examiner’s ability, and optimizing examination procedure, the drafting quality of patent applications should also be further normalized and the quality of applicants’ observations on office actions should be further improved. Meanwhile, in order for the public to determine the protection scope of patents with certainty and avoid unnecessary disputes, it is of great significance to have patents with clear and explicit protection scopes. Furthermore, the scope of a patent should be uniform in administrative and juridical proceedings.Based on this angle, this thesis puts forward that the doctrine of estoppel should be introduced to the proceedings of patent application examination and the patent invalidation proceedings. First of all, the thesis summarizes rules or regulations, problems occurred in practice and arguments on these problems in the two proceedings. Secondly, analysis on the feasibility of introducing the doctrine is presented. At the end, some measures and recommendations for rectifying the current system are provided.The thesis is composed of three parts: foreword, text and conclusion. The text is composed of four chapters. Every chapter will be introduced in the following section.The doctrine of estoppel in Patent Application Procedure is analyzed in chapter1. The chapter summarizes some rules or regulations and disputes on some problems in every stage of the patent application procedure. These rules or regulations are presented in different parts in Guidelines for Patent Examination, and there is not any clear theoretical basis that can restrict the doctrine of examination upon request. At the same time, It is also pointed out that disputes and troubles will occur in practice, given the fact that inventions claimed to protect vary greatly from application to application and the examination procedures for different applications are distinct. Thus, this paper comes to the conclusion that a uniform doctrine is needed to address these problems and troubles.The doctrine of estoppel in the patent invalidation procedure is explored in chapter2. The chapter analyzes some typical rules or regulations and controversial problems about the doctrine of estoppel in the patent invalidation procedure from the angles of petitioners and patentees. Some of these rules or regulations are listed in the Guidelines for Patent Examination, others come from the rules in civil law, and some practical problems have not been resolved. These existing rules or regulations could not resolve all problems, and a convincing conclusion can not be drawn for the disputes, if there are no theoretical basis for it.Chapter3analyzes the feasibility of introducing the doctrine of estoppel. The chapter formulates if it is reasonable and feasible to introduce the doctrine into procedures of patent examination and invalidation from different perspectives. Firstly, the chapter probes the basic meaning and origins of this doctrine, and its development history. Secondly, the chapter examines whether is it reasonable and feasible to introduce the doctrine into these procedures in detail. These angles include the independence of the doctrine, the theory of interest balance in patent law, the doctrine of good faith in civil law, the doctrine of trust benefit protection in administrative law, the doctrine of high efficiency in the administrative procedure, the directing effect of doctrines of law on specific regulations and how strict law is implemented. Thirdly, feasibility analysis on the operation is conducted. On the basis of the above analysis, a conclusion can be drawn that it is reasonable and feasible to introduce the doctrine of estoppel in these procedures.Chapter4presents improvement spaces of the existing system. According to the above argumentation, the chapter concludes the following measures that can be practiced: amending patent law and implementing regulations of the patent law, the doctrine of estoppel will be included in the rejection articles of the patent law, the doctrine of the estoppel and the specific rules or regulations related to it will be set out in Guidelines for Patent Examination, and examination files will be managed orderly. On the base of above discussion, some recommendations on institutional level are advanced, such as strengthening information sharing and establishing connections between these procedures.The introduction of the doctrine can prevent the applicant, patentee, and petitioner from changing their review or amending application files repeatedly, which will make them take their actions seriously. Moreover, it can provide a solid theoretical basis for the existing rules or regulations. The problems will be handled effectively, and a convincing conclusion will be come up with about the existing debates. These methods not only guarantee the seriousness of the examination procedures and improve administrative efficiency, but also strengthen the effective connection between different procedures. As a result, the facts found and the implementation of law in these procedures will be consistent.
Keywords/Search Tags:the doctrine of estoppel, examination of patentapplication, patent invalidation, patent infringement
PDF Full Text Request
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