China mulls legal basis for settling pharmaceutical patent disputes

BEIJING -- Chinese lawmakers are considering providing a legal basis for the early settlement of disputes over pharmaceutical patents.

The proposal was made in a draft amendment to the Patent Law, which was submitted on Tuesday for a third reading at the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

During the process of approving a drug to enter the market, the draft revision read, if the applicants and related patent holders or interested parties are in dispute over the drug's patent rights, relevant parties may take legal action in a people's court, requesting judgment on whether or not the drug's technical composition falls under the protection scope of other drug patents.

As the early settlement of drug patent disputes is a newly established institutional mechanism, Chinese lawmakers have agreed that it is essential to define related principles and legal references in the Patent Law. Relevant departments and judicial organs can improve on the specifics in their work in accordance with the law.