Question:
We have prepared a US patent application and wonder whether a foreign filing licence from SIPO is required because one inventor is a Chinese citizen. If this inventor neither conceived nor worked on their part of the invention in China, is such a licence necessary?
Answer:
A foreign filing licence is required only for an invention developed in China. Although one inventor is a Chinese citizen, we understand that the invention was not developed in China. It is therefore unnecessary to apply to SIPO for a foreign filing licence for this application.