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Zhong Lun Helps 3N TECH Win a Patent Invalidation Administrative Lawsuit before the Supreme People's Court
Zhong Lun Helps 3N TECH Win a Patent Invalidation Administrative Lawsuit before the Supreme People's Court
3N TECH has recently prevailed in a patent invalidation administrative lawsuit before the Supreme People’s Court with Zhong Lun’s professional assistance. The court set aside an invalidation decision that had rendered a patent of 3N TECH invalid in whole. The patent in question is a utility model patent called “contact lens reducing instrument" with a patent number of ZL201520592412.9. In 2018, the petitioner filed an invalidation petition against the patent, and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued an invalidation decision, declaring the patent invalid in whole. 3N TECH then engaged Zhong Lun to file an administrative lawsuit for it against the invalidation decision.
Zhong Lun lawyers found that the invalidation decision was made on the ground of reasoning and combination of evidence beyond the request of the petitioner and therefore violated the principle of examination upon request in an invalidation proceeding. As the procedure was illegal, Zhong Lun lawyers filed an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, requesting that the invalidation decision be set aside. In April 2021, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court issued a first instance judgment, holding that the invalidation decision was procedurally illegal and setting aside the decision. The CNIPA appealed the first instance judgment to the Supreme People’s Court. In October 2022, the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People’s Court issued a second instance judgment, upholding the first instance judgment. In its judgment, the Supreme People’s Court held that the principle of examination upon request in an invalidation examination proceeding is a combination of due process, certainty, timeliness, non-repeatability, etc.; if an invalidation decision is based on a combination of evidence beyond the request of the petitioner, and the patentee is deprived of an opportunity to debate on the combination, it violates both the principle of examination upon request and the principle of hearing.
This is a landmark case as the Supreme People’s Court has for the first time specifically explained the connotation and denotation of the principle of examination upon request in invalidation examination proceedings, which offers an important guidance for courts to hear similar cases and will have a significant impact for the CNIPA to hear patent invalidation cases.
Zhong Lun partner Bisheng Shi and associates Peng Lv and Lingbo Xiao provided full-suite legal services for this case.