Zhao Jiaxiang is one of just a few people who have witnessed the entire development of the design patent system in China.

For 25 years, starting in 1981 when he was recruited by the State Patent Office, until his retirement in 2006, Zhao Jiaxiang had experienced the hardships of drafting the Patent Law and participated in the establishment of the Examination and Reexamination Board for Design Patents. He was also the first person of China to study Japan’s design patent system. As an examiner, he handled the examinations of the earliest design patents; and as a Board member, he adjudicated the first patent validity case in China. He also served for 20 years as the first section chief of the Examination and Reexamination Board for Design Patents.

Zhao Jiaxiang summed up the past and took a brief look into the future: “I love my job, and wish I could work forever, but even in retirement, I still work at the forefront of China’s design patent cause, as always.”

Entering the Patent Office, a wonderful joke of history

“I joined the Patent Office because my major was industrial art design. This major was pretty much due to my father’s influence, as well as my own interest; I chose to study industrial design all because my father inspired my interests,” said Zhao Jiaxiang.

Zhao was born in Beijing to a not-so-wealthy family. His father made a living by painting lanterns and making handicrafts in a small workshop now located in Dengshikou, in Beijing. Zhao’s interests in painting and design was initially inspired by his father, who supported the family by making handicrafts in the dim light.

“As a kid, the greatest pleasure for me was to look at my father’s paintings and stone carvings. At that time, I never felt tired. I could stare at them until midnight, and gradually I fell in love with creation and design.” Zhao Jiaxiang said excitedly while recalling his childhood.

With these interests, Zhao Jiaxiang was admitted to the School of Arts and Crafts in 1962 and had high career expectations after his internship at the Beijing Textile Mill.

However, before he had time to realize his ideals, the “Cultural Revolution” broke out in 1966 and arts and crafts were identified as bourgeois activities.  In 1967, life gave Zhao a severe test and he was assigned to a plastics factory as an ordinary worker. He worked for the factory for 7 years and contributed his most valuable years to this unfamiliar industry.

In 1975, with the relatively relaxed political environment, Zhao left the plastics factory and started to work as a designer for a handicraft factory under the China National Arts and Crafts Corporation. However, five years later, Zhao Jiaxiang made his decision - to work for the State Patent Office.

“At that time, I only wanted to make a change. For one reason, there were too many old classmates in the Corporation and there were a lot of things I did not like. For another, I wanted to find a new path. Of course, I also wanted to improve my life by making a new change.” Zhao Jiaxiang said.

In 1980, Zhao had two opportunities presented to him.  One was to work for Popular Science, and the other was to become a patent examiner for design patents. Zhao was already familiar with the former; the latter he knew nothing about except that it was closely related to what he did. When he asked a receptionist at the Patent Office what a patent was like, the receptionist answered, “I do not know, either.”

This was during the Reconstruction period when the country needed to set up a patent system that was totally new to its people; Zhao was swept into this emerging industry by chance.
 
In the spring of 1981, Zhao Jiaxiang came to his new workplace, which was located at the No. 24 Stand in the Workers Stadium at that time.

March 12, 1984
   
“We are about to be in business!” Zhao Jiaxiang said when learning that the Patent Law was passed and would be implemented on April 1, 1985.
 
In the early 1980s, the State Patent Office was set up with governmental support. This was a state organ established to link China’s reform and opening-up to the world. IP protection was not only a key step for China to integrate into the global economy, but also one of the turning points for China’s rapid economic development.

“The location of the State Patent Office was also interesting then. They rented the No. 24 Stand of the Workers Stadium and used the third floor as a dorm and the second floor as an office.” Zhao recalled, “I remember clearly that the living conditions were so good at that time. They only charged 15 cents for a lunch that included 4 dishes and a soup. Then my prayers were answered: I was assigned a flat with two rooms near Tuanjiehu.”

With the improvement of his working and living conditions, it seemed that everything was satisfactory. But in reality, this was not the case. Zhao and his colleagues were faced with one problem – they had nothing to do. The job, which was once full of high expectations, became complicated and confusing.

“Many of my colleagues left the Patent Office because they wanted to have a better future or at least have something to do. But I stayed and persisted. I stayed with my remaining colleagues, studying foreign languages and foreign patent systems. Many of us were sent to foreign countries, such as Germany and France, to study their patent systems. One of my tasks was to paint pictures, frame them, and send them out as gifts to our foreign counterparts. They joked that my paintings have been abroad for a long time.” Zhao Jiaxiang sighed when looking back on these memories.

In 1981, efforts were stepped up to draft the Patent Law, but after several versions were drafted, the law was unable to be passed because of the conflicts between various theories and concepts. Zhao Jiaxiang said, “Many departments, such as the Ministry of Machinery and Medicine Administration, were opposed to the Patent Law. At that time, many Chinese products were imitations. Production could no longer continue if there was a patent system. Also, many people believed that a patent system, in theory, should not exist in the socialist system, because it was based on private ownership, empowering patentees with monopoly rights. Some even discussed whether a technologically underdeveloped country should have a patent system at all.”

With China’s reform and opening-up going deeper, more and more foreign investments and technologies were entering the country. It became extremely urgent to protect intellectual property. Deng Xiaoping made special instructions that the Patent Law should be passed as soon as possible and should include the three types of patents, which laid a solid foundation for its draft and implementation.

Zhao Jiaxiang was still excited in the year 1984: “On March 12, 1984, Peng Zhen announced that the Patent Law of China was passed by the NPC Standing Committee and would come into force on April 1, 1985.”

As an examiner, Zhao Jiaxiang expressed his feelings for the upcoming April 1, 1985 start date with the most simple yet most exact sentence: “we are about to be in business!”
 
25 years and 20 years

“The establishment of a patent system in China marked the age when all inventors, regardless of their gender, nationality, age, or educational background, would be legally recognized by the state for their inventions. It also indicated that China’s science and technology business was about to take off.” Zhao Jiaxiang made the above comment after meeting Zheng Junhua, an inventor from Tianjin, during an investigation in 1984.

It was exciting to see the Patent Law passed, but the Law only laid the ground work with generalized directions.  Specific details needed to be filled in by the implementing agencies, such as the Patent Office. At the same time, the international community sent messages of cooperation and assistance, and many countries were willing to receive China’s patent practitioners as part of their international exchange programs.

That same year, 1984, Zhao was sent to Japan to study the design patent reexamination system there. In the second half of 1984, Zhao and a colleague, along with an interpreter, went to Japan for a month-long tour.

“We picked Japan because it had substantial design examinations which, according to what they said in China, had a lot for us to learn. Another reason, of course, was because Japan was close.” Zhao Jiaxiang said.

In Japan, Zhao worked as an intern in Japan’s Patent Office. Every day there were lectures (by experienced examiners) on topics including preliminary examination, categorization of designs, design patent law, and examinations on novelty, inventiveness, and utility. Zhao worked hard and made lots of notes. In addition to the lectures, they also reviewed every design examination procedure and participated in hands-on exercises.

“I prepared teaching slides on the lectures I attended in Japan and shared them with my colleagues after returning to China. In addition, I also invited my teacher, Noguchi, to China to give us lectures.” Zhao said.

After returning to China, Zhao and his colleagues were dispatched to make investigations throughout the country to estimate the amount of patent applications expected on April 1.

“I was then living in the experts building of Tianjin University. I met with many patent applicants, listening to their plans and explained the Patent Law to them.” Zhao Jiaxiang said.

It was at that time when Zhao Jiaxiang first met Zheng Juanhua, the person that sparked so many feelings and idea in his mind.

“From the beginning, Zheng Juanhua told me that he wanted to apply for patents for 20 designs, including a cloisonné bell, a crystal table, etc. I was so confused.”

“I want to have my works recognized.” Zheng Juanhua said. He explained that during the Cultural Revolution, he was fond of making small inventions and creations. However, he was thought to have run an underground factory, and his house was searched. Now, after hearing there would be a Patent Law, he wished to have his work recognized through this law, and tell everyone that he was an inventor.

Zhao Jiaxiang said, “I was deeply impressed, and felt that the establishment of a patent system in China would mark the age when all inventors, regardless of their gender, nationality, age, or educational background, would be legally recognized by the state as to their inventions. It also would indicate that China’s science and technology business was about to take off.”

On April 1, 1985, the first batches of patent applications were submitted to the Patent Office. After five years of waiting, the Patent Office was finally in business. Zhao Jiaxiang was so excited. Even now, he still keeps the first issue of the Official Patent Gazette.

 “It is hard to tell which was the first patent because a number of applications were filed at the same time. However, the first design patent in the Official Patent Gazette was for a collarless jacket.” Zhao Jiaxiang recalled with a smile, “I remember that there was also a design patent for a plastic urn in the first batch of applications.”

By the end of 1985, the Patent Office received more than 100 design patent applications. Although this was a pleasant surprise for the brand-new patent system, Zhao Jiaxiang and his colleagues were not satisfied, believing that there was still not enough publicity. However, Zhao Jiaxiang’s work changed again while he was preparing a large publicity campaign for the coming year.

“At that time, the second half of 1985, leaders of the Patent Office talked with me and hoped that I could help establish the Patent Reexamination Board and beef up patent reexamination and invalidation. To be honest, I was reluctant to work there. After all, I just made a little improvement in patent examinations. It was difficult for me to accept a new job all of a sudden. However, after careful consideration, I decided to take the job with the Patent Reexamination Board.” Zhao Jiaxiang said.

In 2006, Zhao Jiaxiang retired from the Board, where he worked as a Board member for 20 years.

An ordinary Board member

“A Board member has many powers, but still he has to bow to knowledge. There is a lot to learn and I must be modest. This is the belief I held during my career.”

Zhao has many stories to tell from his 20 years as a Board member. However, these years seemed quiet compared to those colorful years from 1981 to 1985 when there was no business.” Of course, this is not surprising as those 20 years did not contain the troubles of the 1970s, nor the personal struggles or uncertainties of the early 1980s. All he had to do in those years was concentrate on patent reexaminations.

“I conducted the very first patent invalidation case in China, which involved a design patent,” Zhao Jiaxiang said.

In 1986, Japan’s Sharp Company obtained a design patent for a thermal container, to which a Shanghai company filed an opposition. The Sharp patent was invalidated, which was China’s first patent invalidation case. At that time, the Technology Market News in Tianjin published a front-page headline: Red Card to Sharp’s Patent Upon Reexamination.

In the mid-1980s, more and more cases appeared for patent reexamination, but the total number was not impressive. Zhao remained as the only member of the Board. In the early 1990s, more cases came for reexamination. By 1994, an office of design patent reconsideration was set up with the Patent Office, where Zhao was appointed as the head.

“Those 20 years as a Board member taught me a lot of things,” Zhao said.

The role of a Board member is a complex one. On one hand, it has to be relatively impartial and, in many ways, a Board member acts like a judge when taking cases, especially at an oral hearing. On the other hand, a Board member must have a thorough understanding of the design under reexamination; a role that is more like that of an examiner. Therefore, a Board member must have the qualities of both a judge and an examiner.

“I was careful never to have ex parte communications, even when shook hands. When I shake hands with one party, I would also extend my hand to the other party, or it would arouse suspicion.” Zhao spoke briefly of his experience as a Board member.

When discussing the qualities of a Board member, Zhao said, “There are 32 classes, and 214 sub-classes covering more than 6000 items in design patent. I have not yet finished trying all of these kinds of design patents during my 20 years of work. There are too many types, indeed. What is more important is that the design trend is always changing. The reexamination of design patents should also follow the trend. Therefore, the trial of each case is a new challenge for me.” As head of the office, Zhao always encouraged his staff to “go shopping,” in order to discover new trends and to share these experiences with each other. As a reexaminer, Zhao Jiaxiang would also learn from these experiences and ask in detail when he had questions. Of course, he would ask both parties.

Actually, it was sometimes not easy to balance between these two roles.

In 2001, the Patent Law was amended so that the decisions of the Patent Reexamination Board were no longer the last word. Now, the parties may take the case to court if they are not satisfied with the Board’s decision. This change brought new problems to the Board members: the relationship between procedure and substance.

Zhao Jiaxiang said, “Judges and Board members are different in many ways. Judges pay more attention to the procedures. At the beginning, many cases were thrown out because of procedural problems, particularly for failing to give proper notice, or for oversight of the evidentiary rules, like a proper signature, etc. The cases were simply thrown out when they were sent to the courts.”

However, as Zhao Jiaxiang said, a mistake can be tolerated, but must not be repeated. As a Board member, he must strive to balance his roles and make no mistakes, or fewer mistakes.

Life in retirement

“I’m still active on the forefront of the design patent cause.” Zhao Jiaxiang said, while making his self-evaluation for his retirement.
    
In early 2006, Zhao Jiaxiang left the familiar place, job, and people with whom he had worked with for 25 years. Although his job has changed, his enthusiasm for China’s IP cause has not diminished. Now, he continues to publicize China’s patent system tirelessly and make efforts to promote the academic communication between China and other countries.

“Although retired, I’m still working at the forefront of the design patent cause. I have positioned myself in the IP publicity field. I am now working as an adviser and teacher, and I am also working for the All-China Patent Agent Association. I would like to organize more international exchange activities and deepen the mutual understanding between Chinese and foreigners.” Zhao Jiaxiang said.

About his present work, Zhao Jiaxiang believes that publicity and communication are necessary in China’s patent development. He can still remember that, on March 1, 1994, at the Asian and Pacific Patent Design Seminar, which was organized by the Patent Office of China and WIPO, co-organized by Japan Patent Office, as a delegate of the Patent Office of China, he gave a speech on the Business Value of Design Patent. His speech was widely approved and was even praised with a letter from the Director-General of WIPO.

After this experience, Zhao Jiaxing believed that China’s IPR had to be integrated into the world.
                                                                    

(Translated by Li Guanqun)