Other options to resolve patent infringement dispute, experiences from China

Abstract

While civil litigation (CL) was expected to play a major role in resolving patent infringement disputes, administrative adjudication (AA) has become the preferred channel for patentees to protect their rights in China since 2015. The number of AA cases significantly increased during the study period of 2010–2021. Our research finds that AA does not particularly favor patentees. By comparing the rules of CL and AA, we also find that low cost and high efficiency are the two major advantages of AA. Besides these traits, the motivations for patentees to initiate AA are the lack of risks in AA procedure and its valuable outcomes. Understanding the real motivation for the application of AA could be a reference for improving the patent infringement dispute system.