Chinese courts invalidate 11 Sunny Optical patents in AAC dispute
Chinese courts are increasingly invalidating patents, including standard-essential claims for codecs like HEVC, by applying a strict 'support requirement' under Article 26(4) of the Chinese Patent Law. This doctrine requires that claim scope must strictly match the invention's technical contribution, creating significant risks for companies filing U.S.-drafted patent specifications in China.
Key Takeaways
- Sunny Optical lost 11 patents in a dispute with AAC Technologies because claims lacked specification support.
- Microsoft and Google maintain significantly lower ratios of Chinese to U.S. patents in the Access Advance HEVC pool compared to Huawei.
- Chinese courts apply the 'Technical Solution' doctrine to both unpredictable biotech arts and predictable fields like HEVC encoding.
- Article 26(4) invalidations often occur because claims omit 'essential technical features' necessary to achieve the stated technical effect.
Why It Matters
The aggressive application of Article 26(4) creates a significant enforcement gap for Western streaming companies holding HEVC and VVC portfolios in China. While U.S. law focuses on whether an invention can be made, Chinese tribunals prioritize whether the claim scope matches the 'technical contribution,' leading to the invalidation of broad codec claims that lack granular specification support. This shift forces a strategic divergence in patent drafting, as specifications optimized for the USPTO now face high failure rates during Chinese litigation. Industry observers should monitor upcoming HEVC pool audits to see if more U.S.-originated claims are stripped from essentiality lists due to these support-requirement defects.
Additional Context
The industry is also seeing increased scrutiny of video integrity standards, as seen in the recent ONVIF Media Signing Add-on rollout for H.264 and H.265 streams. These regulatory challenges often mirror broader PTAB patent mandate disputes that continue to shape global licensing strategies, while Chinese OTT platforms continue to influence the regional legal landscape.
Read full article at ipwatchdog.com
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