Taiwan national research institute head falsely accused of lobbying for personal profit
Early in March Chi-Huey Wong, currently the president of Taiwan’s national research institute Academia Sinica, was accused of lobbying for the approval of a breast cancer drug for personal profit. The reporter stated that Wong had made positive comments about the drug in question because he holds stocks in Optimer Pharmaceuticals, the mother corporation of the company seeking approval for the drug. Wong was also one of the cofounders of Optimer Pharmaceuticals while resident in the US. The reporter also suggested that Wong would profit from related biotech patents should the drug be approved. A representative from Academia Sinica subsequently issued a statement stating that Wong had divested himself of any position or stocks in the firm on taking up his current post and that the technology in question was not transferred by Wong to the company in question. They stated that the technology was transferred by the Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer center in the US and that all technology transfer from Academia Sinica to listed companies is done in accordance with government legislation and not in Wong’s name. Optimer was acquired by international pharmaceutical giant Merck in 2013 and is no longer an independent entity. According to the statement issued by Academia Sinica, Wong does not hold any stocks in Taiwanese biotech companies. The research institute accused the journalist of hack reporting, adding that Wong made the comments about the drug in response to questions from journalists and recommended the drug’s approval purely on the basis of its scientific merit.
Japanese government complete initial draft of patent and trademark legislation amendment
The Japanese government has completed an initial draft of its patent and trademark law legislation amendments following on from TPP negotiations. After a cabinet meeting on March 8 the draft amendments were sent to the diet for approval, and are hoped to be approved within this diet session (before June 1).
The website of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry stated that the main changes in this draft concern the conditions to be met before applying for a patent, extending a six month grace period for inventions published in academic journals prior to patent application to a year. Under current legislation, inventions disclosed before applying for a patent are viewed as not innovative, and so cannot be granted a patent, with an exception made in the case of publication in an academic journal or at an academic conference, in which case a patent application must be made within six months from the date of disclosure. It’s this period which will be extended to a year.
The new trademark draft amendment concerns a new compensation system for trademark infringement. The draft proposes that, when calculating damages, the costs of obtaining and maintaining the trademark should be included in the compensation.
Hitachi Metals Accuses Chinese Rare-Earth Magnet Firm Consortium of Misleading the Public
After some of the claims of two contested Hitachi Metals patents relating to sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets were declared invalid in a final ruling by the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the consortium of Chinese rare earth magnet firms in Ningbo who launched the inter parte review proceedings were quick to celebrate. The consortium declared their victory in the suit calling Hitachi Metals’ domination in the sector “Japan’s patent blockade of the Chinese mainland”.
Hitachi Metals has subsequently complained that the Chinese media has reported the verdict inaccurately, suggesting that the two patents were completely invalidated, which could lead to further infringement.
The consortium is also taking on Hitachi Metals in China in an antitrust suit.
No Sense of Irony: Chief Architect of China’s Chengdu-20 Fighter Concerned about Intellectual Property
Yang Wei, the chief architect of China’s Chengdu J-20, a fifth generation stealth fighter currently in development, has expressed concerns about the possibility of patent trolls registering aspects of the fighter’s design, according to a report by Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily. Yang stated that he was concerned that, as several photographs of the fighter have been leaked on to the internet on several occasions, other parties may copy or attempt to register patents or trademarks related to the design of the aircraft. Yang cited the successive development of large transport carriers, the fourth generation Shenyang J-31 'Gyrfalcon' stealth fighter, the Shenyang J-15 carrier-based fighter, the Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11 fighters and the CAIC Z-10 attack helicopter as evidence of the rapid advance of China’s weapons industry, but stated that IP protection has not progressed at the same pace, especially in terms of design. He stated that certain parties had already copied the design of the plane, developed related products and attempted to apply for related trademarks and patents on their design. He stated that helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were especially vulnerable to design-theft.
Yang called for an extension of design patent terms and an extension of the grace period for applying for a patent after initial disclosure of the design to be patented. He also suggested that design patents be included in the special “national defense” category.
Certain military analysts may see an irony to Yang’s predicament given that the J-20 itself is often seen as a rip-off of the US F-22 Raptor.
Calls for Merging of China’s Intellectual Property Agencies at the ‘Two Sessions’
An NPC delegate called for reform of China's intellectual property system at China's most important political meetings, the annual National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The chair of the Chongqing municipal committee, Du Liming, who is also an NPC delegate and a standing member of the minor Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party called for the formation of a single national agency under the State Council responsible for all aspects of intellectual property.
Du stated that intellectual property is currently managed by a range of different agencies, as the patent office of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) is in charge of patent law, while the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television administers copyright legislation and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce is in charge of trademark registration and management. He also called for revision to provisions in the country's IP-related legislation which would stand in the way of merging the different aspects into the mandate of one agency.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also stated at the Boao Forum for Asia 2016 later in the month that the country needs to step up protection for intellectual property rights.
A draft revision of China’s patent law was published in December 2015 and is expected to be implemented soon.
Taiwan to Roll Out Incentives for Investment in Financial Technology Patents
The Banking Bureau of Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission is set to roll out incentives to those who apply for patents in the financial technology sector, according to Taipei's Commercial Times. The bureau has already called for the formation of a dedicated research team, which will come up with a system of incentives before the end of May to encourage financial industries to invest in research and development in financial technology and to give their staff training in the field.
Thirty six of the 196 financial technology patents that Chinese internet giant Alibaba has applied for in Taiwan have already been granted, which is more than the total number of financial patents by domestic Taiwanese firms combined. Five Taiwanese banks, Cathay United Bank, CTBC Bank, Taipei Fubon, E. Sun Commercial Bank and Sinopac Financial Holdings Company, have been granted 24 patents between them, which suggests they are lagging behind their Chinese competitors.
The commission set up a Financial Technology Office last year to respond to the changes brought with the internet age of banking. The commission recently held its third consultative session on financial technology and proposed a draft white paper listing 11 areas for priority development, including e-payments, e-banking, risk management, talent development, encouraging innovative startups, block chain distributed databases and identity authentication. The draft is expected to be made public in April.
