Determination On Whether Claims Involving Custom Product Models Have A Clear Protection Scope

The SPC concluded an appeal against an administrative dispute over the invalidation of an invention patent. The court clarified that, for claims containing custom product models, if the description neither discloses the product's source nor its structure, composition, performance, or manufacturing method—making the referenced material indeterminable—and those skilled in the art cannot reasonably determine its meaning after reading the claims, description, and drawings, it shall be determined that the protection scope of the claims is unclear, and the patentee shall bear the corresponding adverse consequences.

Xi'an A Company filed an invalidation request with the CNIPA against an invention patent owned by Shenyang B Company, titled "A Method for Manufacturing Resin-Based Composite Aircraft Part Stretch-Forming Molds" (hereinafter referred to as "the Patent"). The primary grounds were that Claims 1-2 of the Patent were unclear and lacked inventiveness. The CNIPA's