The name of the game: ‘legal’ before ‘patentable’
Article 5, paragraph 1 of the Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that no patent right shall be granted for any invention-creation that is contrary to national laws.
In China, gambling is a criminal act. Article 303 of the Criminal Law of the PRC provides for the crime of gambling. Article 70 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the PRC, issued in 2005 and revised in 2012, also specifies penalties for certain gambling behaviours.
Therefore, when the subject of a patent application is in relation to gambling, it is difficult for a patent application to be granted a patent right.
On the other hand, gambling-related games are popular. With the growing scale of the games market, the importance of protecting gaming creations has become increasingly prominent for obtaining monopolistic competitive advantages.
As a result, there are more patent applications related to this kind of game. However, whether they can qualify for patent protection is still controversial.
Playing the game
In the re-examination decision no. 127798 issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration on August 1, 2017, the application in question (no. 201280045416.4) is directed to a hybrid gaming system and method.
In the decision, it is held that:
