八卷七期　89年04月16日

IPO Announced Revisions of the Patent Examination Standards and Patent Infringement Verification Standards
The Intellectual Property Office on 28 January 2000 announced revisions of the Patent Examination Standards and Patent Infringement Verification Standards regarding the determination of similarity and classification of new design objects. The details of the revisions are as follows:
1.Patent Examination Standards. Line 6 of page 3-2-3, "Whether the same type of goods" was revised to read "Whether are similar objects". Lines 4 and 5 of page 3-2-4 was revised from "there is a greater probability that an object is similar if it is in the same general classification of object" to read "there is a greater probability that an object is similar if it compares with an object with the same general function".
2.Patent Infringement Verification Standards. Chapter 10, new design patent application scope of patent, section 2-4 "identical or similar objects of the same classification of objects" and its explanation are revised as follows: "4. Identical or similar objects: new design patents must indicate an object that uses the new design. Its patent scope shall include not only identical and similar designs of identical objects, but also identical or similar designs of similar objects. Therefore, when determining whether a new design patent has been infringed, it first must be determined whether the object in dispute and the new design patent are identical or similar objects. If they are not identical or similar objects, but the object in dispute and the new design patent are identical or similar in design, it is difficult to determine if it in conflict with the scope of the new design patent."
The IPO based these revisions on principles announced in August 1999 regarding associated new design patent examination standards for the determination of similar objects. In order to preserve uniformity among the provisions and in order to following international trends in the protection of intellectual property, the IPO also revised provisions in October 1994 regarding determination of similarity of new design patents in the Patent Examination Standards, and in January 1996 announced new design application provisions in the Patent Infringement Verification Standards.

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