This paper provides an overview of the institutional background of patent examination and its duration in China. The number of patent applications filed at the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has grown tremendously in recent decades; by 2009, SIPO had become the world's third...

Pharmaceutical firms typically enjoy market exclusivity for new drugs from concurrent protection of the underlying invention (through patents) and the clinical trials data submitted for market approval (through data exclusivity). Patent invalidation during drug development renders data...

The European Patent System is facing major challenges resulting from an extension of patentable subject matter leading to an increasing number of patent applications. The European Patent Office has responded with admirable flexibility, but continuing technological change and greater importance...