On September 23, 2016, the Patent Reexamination Board remotely heard a case of request for invalidation for the first time.

The involved patent is a utility model patent.Both parties and their agents in thiscase are located in Guangdong. In the remote hearing process, the Panel of the Patent Reexamination Board is in the first trial roomin Beijing, while the parties and agents are in the first circuit trial room in Guangdong set by the Patent Reexamination Board. They completed the oral hearing process simultaneously through an oral hearing system and remote video devices. The oral hearing process is smooth, and the time it took is basically the same asaregular face-to-face oral hearing.

The remote hearingbased on the Internet is a new attempt by the Patent Reexamination Board toimprove the work on cases of request for invalidation/reexamination. The remote hearing has enriched the means of oral hearing, which provides great convenience to parties involved in a case. The remote hearing also increases the utilization of the circuit trial room, enhances the work communication between the Board and the local intellectual property office, and promotes the effective connection between the patent right verification and the patent infringement trial.

This is the first time that the Patent Reexamination Boardremotely heard a case.In the future, more and more remote hearing of cases of request for invalidation/reexamination will be carried out by the Board.