Issued in January 2009, the CNIS document, "Guide for Implementation of the Inclusion of Patents in National Standards," is a key element in a proposal put forth by the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) in November 2009, "Interim Provisions on Formulation and Revision of Patent-Related National Standards." All interested stakeholders were invited to review and comment upon the CNIS document on or before March 1, 2010.
In February 2010, ANSI assembled a response task force of its Intellectual Property Rights Policy Committee (IPRPC) to examine the CNIS document and suggest comments on its content. These comments were reviewed and compiled by ANSI staff, and the final response to CNIS received overwhelming approval by IPRPC members.
To review the full set of comments submitted by ANSI on February 28, 2010, click here.
In general, ANSI supports China's efforts to address the inclusion of technology covered by patent claims in Chinese National Standards. But some portions of the CNIS Guide raised questions and concerns for U.S. stakeholders, including articles addressing patent-related disclosures from non-participants and language relating to "essential patents."
In addition, U.S. stakeholders felt that the final CNIS Guide should appropriately balance the interests of those who will implement the standard with the interests and voluntary cooperation of those who own the intellectual property rights.
ANSI submitted its own Patent Policy and Guidelines for Implementation of the ANSI Patent Policy alongside the ISO/IEC/ITU patent policy as examples of guidelines that strike the appropriate balance between these interests.
For more information about ANSI's submittal of comments to CNIS, please contact Ms. Griffin (212.642.4954; pgriffin@ansi.org), or Elise Owen, ANSI director of international development (202.331.3624; eowen@ansi.org).