Algorithmic solutions in China under amended guidelines
Lei Jia of Beijing Sanyou Intellectual Property Agency considers whether there is a need to separately determine whether the algorithm includes ‘technical features’ in the revised guidelines for patent examination
Sponsored by
April 14 2021
The revision of the Guidelines for Patent Examination of the People's Republic of China (revised guidelines) was officially implemented on February 1 2020. Patent applications for inventions that contain algorithmic features or business rules and method features are further specified and exemplified.
Under the revised guidelines, examination is initially carried out under Article 25, paragraph 1, item (2) of the Chinese Patent Law, then further examination is carried out under Article 2, paragraph 2 of the Chinese Patent Law, during examination of the solutions. Since it is necessary to further determine if the solution that includes algorithm features or business rules and method features belongs to a technical solution, the solutions that have not been determined and include algorithm features or business rules and method features in this article are called solutions.