§ JOURNAL
Blog
Insights, tutorials, and news about patents and AI
※ Tutorial
A practitioner's deep dive into the complete Chinese patent agent workflow—from receiving the invention disclosure form to electronic submission via cponline. Covers the 2024-01-20 regulatory triple update, China's three-track patent system (invention/utility model/design), confidentiality review under Article 19, genetic resource disclosure under Article 26(5), IP Protection Center fast-track channels, double-filing strategy, and the precise positioning of AI tools. Written for Chinese patent agents, international IP firms, and corporate IP directors.
※ Tutorial
A practitioner's inside look at the Korean 변리사 complete 10-step workflow—from invention disclosure to 특허로 electronic submission. Covers the 5 mandatory plus 13 conditional filing documents, four Korea-specific format requirements (격식체/단락번호/한자병기/다항인용다항금지), the 2022 분리출원 institution, 11-category 우선심사 expansion in 2025, PCT 31-month deadline, and the precise positioning of AI tools. Written for Korean 변리사, international IP firms, and patent strategy leaders.
※ Tutorial
A practitioner's inside look at the complete 12-step USPTO non-provisional patent application process—from receiving an Invention Disclosure Form through Patent Center submission. Covers 37 CFR 1.77 format requirements, the four IDS time windows, three-tier Entity Status fee schedule, and the correct positioning of AI tools. Written for patent attorneys, firm partners, and IP strategy leaders.
※ Tutorial
A comprehensive practitioner's guide for European patent attorneys: covering the two-part claim form (EPC Rule 43(1)), Problem-Solution Approach (PSA), Unity of Invention (Rule 44), Sufficiency of Disclosure (Art. 83), Added Matter (Art. 123(2)), Reference Signs (Rule 43(7)), the strict no-grace-period rule, designation and validation states, and the 2024 Unitary Patent (UPC) strategic decision framework.
※ Tutorial
A comprehensive practitioner's guide for Japanese patent attorneys (弁理士) and cross-jurisdictional practitioners: covering paragraph numbering 【0001】 full-width conventions (Patent Act Enforcement Rules Form 29), multi-multi-claim prohibition (effective April 2022), prohibition of added matter, prior art document disclosure obligations, reference sign descriptions (符号の説明), the 3-year examination request deadline, accelerated examination systems, and the strategic choice between utility model (実用新案) and patent (特許) applications.
※ Tutorial
A comprehensive practitioner's guide for Korean patent attorneys (변리사) and cross-jurisdictional practitioners: covering multi-multi-claim prohibition (다항인용다항 금지, effective April 2022), paragraph numbering 【0001】 conventions, Korean-English parallel notation requirements, bilingual title format for 발명의 명칭, mandatory representative drawing (대표도), separated application (분리출원, introduced 2022), the 2025 expanded priority examination categories (AI/BIO/반도체/디스플레이/이차전지, etc.), the 12-month grace period, and PPH participation.
※ Tutorial
Japanese patent applications follow strict hard rules: mandatory 【0001】 full-width paragraph numbers, a ban since 2022 on multiply-dependent claims referencing other multiply-dependent claims (マルチマルチクレーム禁止), prohibition on adding new matter (新規事項追加禁止), and a 3-year examination request deadline. This guide systematically covers the full JPO filing workflow — from document structure to claim drafting style — to help practitioners enter the Japanese market at a high-quality standard.
※ Tutorial
Korea's KIPO format system closely resembles Japan's — mandatory 【0001】 paragraph numbers, bracketed section headings, prohibition on multi-multi dependent claims — but directly reusing JP drafts at KIPO will fail. This guide systematically covers Korean patent practice: from the four required document types to claim language structure, from the 2022 separated application (분리출원) procedure to the 2025 AI priority examination expansion, helping practitioners enter the Korean market with precision.
※ Guide
Managing a global patent portfolio means simultaneously mastering 6 drafting workflows, 6 sets of formatting rules, and 6 examiner cultures. This in-depth comparison maps the core differences across six major jurisdictions in specification sections, claim formats, unique procedural mechanisms, and translation challenges — helping IP firms build a standardized multi-country filing handbook.
※ Tutorial
US patent practice is far more than just translation. From the specification section order under 37 CFR 1.77, the Duty of Candor in IDS filings, entity status fee discounts, to the strategic choice between provisional and non-provisional applications — this guide systematically covers USPTO practice essentials to help patent practitioners avoid high-risk pitfalls.
※ News
When evaluating AI patent tools, most buyers fixate on jurisdiction coverage — "does it support US/EP/JP/KR?" But the bigger quality lever is technical domain adaptation. A tool that nails software but fumbles chemistry will produce unfilable drafts, no matter how many jurisdictions it claims to cover. Here's how to evaluate the tradeoff.
※ Tutorial
A software patent reads nothing like a mechanical patent, and a Markush-style chemical claim reads nothing like a biotech sequence listing. The domain matters far more than most attorneys admit. This guide dissects how claim structure, specification depth, experimental data, and drawing types shift across five major technical fields.
※ Guide
Patent drawings are not decorations — they are the visual anchor of the protection scope. Mechanical cross-sections, software flowcharts, chemical structural formulas, optical band diagrams — each technical domain has fundamentally different core drawing types and generation methods. This article, based on a seven-category drawing classification system, analyzes domain-specific drawing requirements, the applicable boundaries of Mermaid versus AI image generation, and CN/US/JP/KR drawing format specifications.
※ Tutorial
Software patent drafting involves three core challenges — building the complete Method-Apparatus-Device-Medium four-part claim suite, avoiding abstract-idea exclusions under PRC Patent Law Article 25 / the US Alice test, and accurately rendering algorithm logic as patent drawings. This article, grounded in the CNIPA Examination Guidelines, the Alice/Mayo framework, and real-world examination practice, provides actionable drafting strategies and explains how AI tools can compress an 8–16 hour drafting task to 2–3 hours.
※ News
WIPO data shows global PCT filings reached 275,900 in 2025, with China leading at 73,718 applications. Drawing on authoritative CNIPA and WIPO statistics, this article analyzes the patent landscape across four key sectors — AI, biotech, clean energy, and semiconductors — decodes the 5G/6G standard-essential patent competition, and maps the strategic direction of the US-China patent race to guide corporate IP portfolio decisions.
※ Tutorial
In 2026, AI-assisted patent drafting has moved from concept to scaled practice. This guide details the complete workflow for AI-assisted patent drafting — prompt engineering techniques, differences across six major jurisdictions (CN/US/EP/JP/KR/PCT), human-AI collaboration best practices, and quality control checklists — helping enterprises and individual inventors complete patent applications at 10x efficiency.
※ Guide
China has become the world's largest patent-filing country, with over 4.75 million active invention patents as of 2024. This guide covers the CNIPA official system, PatSnap, Incopat, and other platforms in depth — command-line syntax, patent family tracking, legal status queries, competitor monitoring, and AI-powered cross-language search — helping you navigate the world's largest patent database with confidence.
※ Tutorial
Large language models are reshaping the patent drafting industry. This article benchmarks leading AI tools including PatSnap, Incopat, and DeepIP, analyzes GPT-4 and Claude performance on legal text generation, and draws on 2024–2025 efficiency data to guide patent professionals in tool selection and workflow optimization.
※ Guide
Patent search is the core skill of intellectual property practice. This guide systematically covers keyword strategies, IPC/CPC classification searching, effective use of Patentscope, Espacenet, and CNIPA, and the standards for writing prior art search reports — building a complete patent search knowledge base for practitioners at all levels.
※ News
A comprehensive breakdown of the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration's Patent Examination Guidelines, covering novelty and inventive step under PRC Patent Law Article 22, sufficient disclosure under Article 26, claims drafting standards, major 2023 amendments, and the new rules effective January 2026 — helping applicants improve first-office-action allowance rates.
※ More articles coming soon...