The Chinese government has launched a series of regulations regarding intellectual property (IP) to improve the quality of patent applications. “These new IP rules reflect the Chinese government's continuous effort in fighting the long-existing and more severe ‘abnormal patent filing activities’ and ensuring the quality of patent applications with practical restriction measures,” Binxin Li, an IP partner in Fenxun Partners, Baker McKenzie's joint operation platform partner in China, told BioWorld.

Ethicon Endosurgery Inc. has had its hands full protecting a patent for robotic surgical systems, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal recently delivered some good news. The Federal Circuit affirmed the results of an inter partes review (IPR) of three claims for an endocutter patent, leaving Ethicon with another win in its efforts to sustain a critical patent for the robotic surgical space, and major player Intuitive Surgical Inc. coming out on the short end of the argument.