On 7 September 2023, China’s National Public Service Platform for Standards Information updated the status of the national standard GB/Z 43194-2023 Disposal Guidelines for Patents Related to Association Standards, from “under development” to “released”. The official enforcement of the standard begins from the day of the release. However, the draft of the standard is not yet avaiable on the platform. According to the main drafter, the reason is that the draft is undergoing final proofreading and typesetting, and soon the official text will be put online.

To assist foreign stakeholders in understanding the latest developments and revisions of the standard, SESEC has compared the latest draft for approval with the previous draft for comment. In general, the revision aims to streamline the requirements for different stakeholders by eliminating unnecessary duties and requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, removing the risk assessment requirement for standard implementers, as well as the emergency response requirement for associations. Furthermore, the entire text has been refined.

More specifically, the key revisions are summarised below:

  • Changing one of the key principles of the standard, from “pursuit of win-win results and mutual benefit” to “spur innovation”. This reflects China’s positive attitude towards achieving innovation and socio-economic benefits. (Article 3)
  • Enhancing the duties of the associations involved in standard formulation. This includes activities such as tracking Standard Essential Patent (SEP)-related policies and documents issued by the international community, administrations and industries, as well as supervising the implementation of the SEPmanagement rules, etc. (Article 2.1.1)
  • Removing Annex B – Example of Licensing Agreement, and Annex C – Example of Transfer Agreement of the Patent Involved in Association Standards.
  • Improving patent disclosure requirements at different phases:

a. In the standard drafting phase: adding onekey section for determining the essentiality of the patent, and another section to determine the next steps in cases where alternative solutions exist. (Article 7.5.2.3)

b. In the technical review phase: adding one key section for determining the next steps in cases alternative solutions exist. (Article 7.5.2.5)

For the SESEC’s analysis on the previous draft for comment, click here.