OKT IP Seminar - US vs. China Patents, from Patentable Subject Matter and Claim Languages to the Nuances of Examination
The top two patent filing countries in the world are China and the U.S. with over a million patent applications filed each year in China and over half a million in the U.S. Obviously the official languages in the two countries are different. But there are also many subtle differences between the two patent systems that could very well mean that without the proper handling a patent application that is allowed in the U.S. could be rejected in China or vice versa.
In this seminar, we will explore the commonalities and differences in the patent systems between the two countries, so that we can devise the best patenting strategy. We will also review the basics of patents so that we can become more patent savvy.
Margaret Burke graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Engineering in 1986, focusing on semiconductors and other materials for electronic applications. She also undertook substantial coursework in electrical and mechanical engineering. She completed her Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in Intellectual Property degrees at George Mason University in 1992 and 2003, respectively.
Margaret has served at the USPTO as both a Chemical Patent Examiner and as an Electrical Patent Examiner. She also has extensive experience working in-house as a Patent Attorney and as Intellectual Property Counsel in private technological institutions such as AT&T Bell Laboratories, Ciena Corporation and Seneca Networks. From 1991-1994, Margaret had worked for NIH and as a patent attorney in a US law firm, which represented the largest US surgical device manufacturing company at that time. Margaret also has international experience as a patent attorney for six years at a Tokyo IP law firm, Taiyo, Nakajima, & Kato and as the lead US Attorney in Ella Cheong (Hong Kong) from 2009 to 2013.
Her patent prosecution experience and opinion work cover a wide range of technologies including the technical fields of displays, photographic materials, imaging devices, telecommunications, mobile networks, printers, cameras, semiconductors, microelectronic devices, fiber optic systems, and biomedical devices. She has also engaged in intellectual property strategies, patent portfolio developments, product design reviews, freedom-to-operate and infringement opinions, patent invalidity challenges and enforcement cases, and IP contentious matters
Sam Yip graduated from University of Toronto with Bachelor and Master of Applied Science degrees in Electrical Engineering. He achieved his Juris Doctorate degree, focusing on intellectual property law, at the University of San Francisco School of Law. Sam has more than twenty years of experience as an engineer and a patent practitioner. He worked as a Patent Agent at a San Francisco IP law firm, Fliesler Meyer LLP before moving back to Hong Kong in 2010. As an engineer, he has worked for a number of Silicon Valley companies including Hewlett-Packard, Genentech, Computer Associates, and REMEC Inc. on projects spanning across software, electronics, communications, and system control technologies.
Before joining Idea Intellectual Limited, Sam was the lead US Attorney in Ella Cheong (Hong Kong) from 2013 to 2016. Sam has worked closely with many Hong Kong research institutes, including NAMI and ASTRI, the universities, including HKUST, HKBU, CityU, and PolyU; U.S. based technology companies such as Oracle, other commercial entities and individual inventors.
His patent prosecution experience and opinion work cover a wide range of technologies including the technical fields of software, mobile computing, displays, imaging devices, telecommunications, mobile networks, printers, cameras, automobile, marine vessels, construction and mining equipment, semiconductors, microelectronic devices, fiber optic systems, and biomedical devices. He has also engaged in intellectual property strategies, patent portfolio developments, IP valuations, IP licensing, product design reviews, patent landscaping, freedom-to-operate and infringement opinions, intellectual property strategies, patent portfolio developments, product design reviews, freedom-to-operate and infringement opinions, patent invalidity challenges and enforcement cases, and IP contentious matters.