Article 23 of China’s Patent Law provides that a design for which a patent is granted shall significantly differ from prior design. The provision bars any design substantially similar to prior design from being patented. The similarity between a design patent and a prior design is ascertained from the perspective of ordinary consumer in respect of the specific category of product incorporating the design patent.

On September 27, 2019, the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC IP Court”) renders a judgment (2019) Zui Gao Fa Zhi Xing Zhong No. 32, confirming the validity of a utility model (UM) patent, ZL201520439003.5, titled “Photovoltaic module and automatic cleaning device thereof”. This case is selected as one of the 36 exemplary cases concluded by the SPC IP Court in 2019 for its significance in clarifying the rule on how to determine a technical problem actually solved in assessment of inventiveness.